Conflict has reconfigured the skies above the Middle East. While this is usually one of the world’s busiest travel corridors, airlines that frequent this airspace have been forced to ground aircraft and cancel flights.
Linking Europe to Africa, Asia and Australia, the region is at the very heart of global travel – a central pathway that is crucial to commercial and cargo flights. But open the Flightradar24 app now and you’ll see a visualisation of the cavernous space that exists as one of the busiest aviation crossroads emptied overnight.
Even before this closure, there was a strain on global airspace. With a no-fly route in place over Ukraine and many airlines avoiding flying over Russia, space for air travel has become increasingly limited. “There was already quite a narrow corridor that all aircraft leaving Europe were having to fly through because of the Israeli operations in Palestine,” explains former EasyJet airline captain, Emma Henderson MBE. “Everybody was having to fly through a narrow corridor along the Black Sea and now the airspace they were using to go around the conflict has closed, so there’s no way to pass through.”
This bottleneck will have operational consequences beyond the region.
What do Middle East airspace closures mean for global travellers?
Passengers on routes that would usually pass through the region, either to transit at one of its international airports or simply fly over, will experience disruption. “Expect to hear the term slot delays,” says Henderson. “Many flights will have to be cancelled because you just can’t fit enough aircraft through the gaps.”
This tight space means travellers flying to destinations such as Asia or Australia from Europe are likely to feel the impact. Routes dependent on that travel corridor – from Paris to Sydney, say – must now find space elsewhere, causing delays and potential price increases.
Will ticket prices go up because of airspace closures in the Gulf?
Beyond scheduling delays, new alternative routes could mean higher prices for passengers. “It will cost more money to operate flights, so ticket prices, I think, will go up,” says the former airline captain.
Adding another layer of complexity, the Strait of Hormuz – the sea passage between the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman, which oil tankers use to reach the world – could be impacted. “If that stops oil tankers from coming through, that’s going to have a knock-on effect on aviation fuel and the cost of air travel,” says Henderson.
As independent air transport consultant John Strickland, director of JLS Consulting and an industry veteran with over 40 years of experience, previously told Condé Nast Traveller Middle East: “The longer routings create, at a minimum, longer flight times and therefore delays. They also increase fuel burn and therefore push up operating costs. At their worst, they consume extra aircraft and crew time – latterly with possible impact on regulated duty hours – and could lead ultimately to knock-on effects of some flights being cancelled.”
Will passengers outside the region be compensated for cancelled flights?
In the instance of cancelled flights, “they don’t fall into the European 261 compensation act because acts of war are deemed outside of the airline’s control, and it’s very unlikely travel insurance is going to cover this either”, says Henderson.
As a general rule, when an airline cancels a flight, they try to reschedule it at a later date or offer each passenger a refund, so it is worth checking in with your provider.
How will Middle East airlines be affected by airspace closures?
Over the past three decades, the Middle East has established itself as a hub for global travel. It is home to some of the world’s busiest airports (95.2 million passengers travelled through Dubai International Airport in 2025) and some of the world’s top airlines, so the immediate impact on the region’s carriers will be felt.
