MANY MIDDLE EAST AIRSPACES REMAIN CLOSED AMID CONFLICT

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Across the Middle East, the airspaces of many countries remain closed on Wednesday, as the region has been thrown into a turmoil following Saturday’s large-scale United States (US) and Israel offensive against Iran.

The situation remains fluid and volatile, with closures and reopening of airspaces occurring to varying degrees against the backdrop of Iran retaliatory drone and missile strikes on Israel and US military facilities in the Gulf.

Live flight tracking service website Flightradar24 said it expects airspace closures to be extended upon expiry.

In its update at 3.38 pm Malaysia Time (MYT), Flightradar24 said while some airspaces reopen, missile and drone attacks are leading to fresh intermittent closures, noting that Oman airspace remains open.

Travel and tourism website TravelAwaits said the current disruption to air travel is happening at levels not seen since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The effect of the airspace closure is far-reaching, as major airlines such as Etihad Airways, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, which provide connecting flights linking Asia with Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Oceania, are based in the Gulf countries. 

The UAE, an important aviation hub and home to Emirates and Etihad Airways, has activated emergency air corridors.

The current operational capacity stands at 48 flights per hour through designated emergency corridors, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported on Tuesday.

Dubai-based Emirates has said on X that it began operating a limited number of flights on the evening of March 2.

Etihad Airways on Tuesday said all its scheduled commercial flights to and from Abu Dhabi remain suspended until 2 pm local time on March 5, although some repositioning, cargo, and repatriation flights may operate in coordination with UAE authorities and subject to strict operational and safety approvals.

“Guests should not travel to the airport unless they have been contacted directly by Etihad and advised to do so. Access to the airport will be restricted for those without confirmed travel documentation,” the airline posted on X.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways’s flights to and from Doha remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

The Qatari flag carrier said on X that it will resume service once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority confirms a safe reopening of Qatari airspace. An update is expected on March 6.

Flight operations at Bahrain International Airport remain temporarily suspended due to closure of Bahrain's airspace, it said in a notice posted on its website. The airport was a target in a drone attack last Sunday that resulted in “minor material losses,” according to a Bahrain News Agency (BNA) report.

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air said on Wednesday that its services remain temporarily suspended following the airspace closure. The next update is expected on Thursday at 4 pm MYT.

Meanwhile, Royal Jordanian Airlines announced the resumption of its regular flight operations following the lifting of partial restrictions and the full reopening of Jordanian airspace. Flights now operate according to their regular schedules, Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported on Wednesday.

The airline clarified that while operations to and from the kingdom have returned to normal, some destinations remain affected by regional airspace closures.

“Flights to Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and Damascus will remain suspended until further notice, pending the reopening of their airspace and the safe resumption of operations,” it said.

Malaysians are strongly advised to defer all non-essential travel to Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the UAE as the official travel advisory issued by the Foreign Ministry is still in force.

-- BERNAMA