- Iran launched a massive missile attack on Israel on Tuesday.
- Iran, Israel, and other neighboring nations closed their airspaces, forcing flight diversions.
- Some Lufthansa flights returned to Frankfurt several hours into their journeys to India and Dubai.
Iran launched a huge missile attack on Israel on Tuesday as tensions in the Middle East soar.
In response, the airspace above Iran, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and other countries in the region was closed Tuesday by various authorities, and airlines quickly reacted to keep their flights out of harm’s way
In some cases, planes were diverted en route to their destination to avoid restricted airspace.
According to FlightRadar24, at least three flights operated by German carrier Lufthansa bound for India and Dubai turned around before reaching Iranian airspace. The treks back to Europe stretched their flight times up to eight hours.
Another flight operated by Swiss from Zurich to Dubai diverted to Antalya, Turkey, shortly before it would have crossed into Iran, FlightRadar24 shows.
The flight-tracking website also showed several Emirates flights bound for Dubai were impacted. The airline told AirlineGeeks that it was diverting some flights and cancelling others.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and are making all efforts to ensure minimal disruption to customers while assisting those impacted,” a spokesperson said.
Several other carriers were also being forced to divert as route options remained limited between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
FlightRadar24 data shows that on Tuesday, a British Airways flight from London to Dubai, a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight from Paris to Amman, and an Israeli airline El Al flight from Rhodes, Greece, to Tel Aviv were all diverted to Larnaca, Cyprus.
British Airways told Business Insider: “Safety and security are always our highest priorities, and we continuously assess and adjust our operations accordingly.”
Throughout the day, some restrictions were lifted, FlightRadar24 said. Jordan and Iraq reopened to flights late Tuesday local time, though few were passing through the region.
Ongoing airspace closures could see airlines add hours of flight time to circumvent Iran and Israel to reach places in Europe, the Middle East, India, and beyond — similar to what happened after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Airlines like Japan Airlines, British Airways, and Finnair added up to four hours of flight time to avoid the Kremlin’s airspace on flights between Asia and Europe amid Russian airspace closures and sanctions.
