Airlines cancel hundreds of flights after U.S., Israeli attacks on Iran

Airlines canceled hundreds of Middle East flights while dozens of others diverted midflight due to closed airspace over a large swath of the region after the U.S. and Israel launched military strikes in Iran. Some service was paused until at least the end of next week.

Travel chaos spread as far as Brazil and Australia. Airspace closures also forced carriers to scrub flights that would normally transit the region.

More than 1,800 flights in and out of the Middle East countries were canceled on Saturday, according to aviation data firm Cirium. Another 1,400 flights in and out of the region were canceled for Sunday, Cirium added.

Qatar Airways said it was temporarily suspending all flights, while Dubai-based Emirates said service at Dubai International Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports, was halted. “We apologise to customers affected by disruptions for any inconvenience caused, and we are assisting them with rebooking, refunds, or alternative travel arrangements,” Emirates said in a statement. “The safety and security of our passengers and crew remain our highest priority.”

Airspace was closed over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, according to Flightradar24.

Air India said it was suspending all flights to the Middle East on Saturday. It later also canceled flights between India and both Europe and the United States scheduled for Sunday, a sign of how the airspace closures were affecting flights that regularly transit the region. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad also canceled all departures through Sunday afternoon from and to that airport.

Lufthansa Group said it suspended flights to Israel, Lebanon, Jordan Iraq, and Tehran until March 7. It also said it would reroute some of its flights to avoid airspace in the area.

An American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Doha turned around near Spain and was en route back to Philadelphia as of Saturday at 9:30 a.m. ET, according to FlightRadar24. Emirates’ Dubai-bound flights from the U.S. were diverted to airports throughout Europe. As of Saturday afternoon ET, the airline had about a dozen crewmembers — pilots and flight attendants — still in Doha, according to people familiar with the matter.

Crews were advised to shelter in place at their hotel in Doha, according to a memo to staff from the airline seen by CNBC.

“Our Corporate Security teams and others across the airline have been actively monitoring the situation throughout the evening and today remain closely coordinated with the U.S. Government,” American wrote.

United Airlines said Tel Aviv flights from the U.S. are canceled through March 6, with flights to Dubai canceled through March 4. Crews and aircraft have departed Tel Aviv and plans are in the works to remove crews in Dubai, a spokesman said. Tel Aviv flights are among the most profitable for the airline, which offers the most international service among U.S. airlines.

Delta Air Lines said its Tel Aviv service would be canceled through at least Sunday.

Airlines have periodically been forced to cancel flights and skirt parts of the Middle East due to security concerns. The airspace closures also mean airlines have to take longer routes to other destinations that previously transited the area, requiring them to use more fuel, which drives up costs.