Photo courtesy of Anadolu.
Several major European carriers suspended or canceled flights across parts of the Middle East after the United States and Israel carried out military strikes against Iran over the weekend, disrupting air travel across the region.
Air France said it had scrapped services to and from Tel Aviv, Beirut, Dubai and Riyadh, while extending the halt on Tel Aviv flights through Sunday, according to French media reports.
Germany’s Lufthansa also paused flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran, with the suspension set to run until March 7, a move widely reported by local outlets.
The Netherlands’ flag carrier KLM suspended its Amsterdam to Tel Aviv route until March 1, citing heightened security risks in the region.
British Airways said passengers booked on affected routes from London Heathrow to several Middle Eastern destinations were allowed to rebook without penalty or opt for refunds up to March 6.
Norway’s national airline temporarily avoided flights to and from Dubai until March 4, while Poland’s LOT Polish Airlines canceled all Tel Aviv services through March 3.
Italy’s ITA Airways suspended Tel Aviv flights until March 7 and said it would steer clear of the airspace over Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Iran over the same period, adding that Dubai routes were halted until March 1 for operational reasons.
The flight disruptions followed Israel’s launch of a preemptive military operation against Iran early Saturday, prompting a nationwide emergency declaration, while US President Donald Trump later said American forces conducted major combat operations aimed at neutralizing what Washington described as imminent threats from Tehran, even as diplomatic talks on Iran’s nuclear program had recently concluded in Geneva under Omani mediation.