Kathmandu. After the US and Israel attacked Iran, countries in the Middle East have partially or completely closed their airspace.

This has led to the biggest disruption to global air traffic. Thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled, with thousands of passengers stranded temporarily at airports.

Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates announced on Saturday that they would recover their airspace. Major airlines such as Emirates, Etihad, Air France, British Airways, Air India, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa have also suspended their services. In the Middle East, 966 of the 4,218 flights were canceled, and the number of outbound flights reached 1,800, according to aviation analyst Cirium.

Iran immediately closed its airspace, while Israel also closed its airspace for civilian flights. Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Kuwait have partially or completely closed their airspace. The United Arab Emirates said it had partially controlled its airspace.

Among the major airlines in the Gulf region, Emirates and Etihad canceled 38% and 30% of their flights, respectively. Qatar Airways suspended all flights and Syria Air suspended all flights until further notice. EgyptAir suspended flights to Dubai, Doha, Manama, Abu Dhabi, Beirut and Baghdad.

European airlines have also been affected. Rosavitsia (Russia) has suspended all commercial flights to Israel and Iran. Air France, British Airways, Swiss International Airlines and Lufthansa have suspended flights to major destinations in the Middle East.

Airlines in North America and Asia-Pacific have also suspended flights. Airlines such as Delta American, American, United, Air Canada, IndiGo, Air India, Cathay Pacific and Garuda Indonesia have suspended their flights to destinations in the Middle East.

African airlines Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways also cancelled or suspended flights to Dubai, Amman, Tel Aviv, Dammam and Beirut.

The biggest disruption to global air travel since the pandemic has been caused by the US-Iran conflict, which has added challenges to passengers, businesses and international aviation.