Middle East Air Spaces Closed Following Airstrikes on Iran

Israel's Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv has canceled all flights until further notice following Israel's airstrikes on Iran, according to the airport. Iran has closed its airspace. Jordan, Iraq and Syria have reopened airspaces to passenger operations after temporary closures.

Delta Air Lines and United Airlines operate flights to Tel Aviv, and each of those routes have been suspended. American Airlines had not yet resumed flights between the U.S. and Tel Aviv.

United arranged seats on El Al out of Tel Aviv for 26 crewmembers who were on layover. United's Flight 84 from Newark Liberty International Airport to Tel Aviv returned to Newark. Flight 90 on Thursday from Newark to Tel Aviv had been canceled. Flight 91 had departed Tel Aviv for Newark when the closure began, and the plane continued to Newark.

A company spokesperson emailed BTN on Saturday that EWR-TLV flights are suspended through July 31. "We will continue to evaluate future flights for the safety of our crew and customers," they wrote. 

Delta has paused its flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Tel Aviv through Aug. 31, and has issued a travel waiver for customers affected during that time.

"The safety of our customers and crew remains our top priority," Delta said in a statement. The carrier is "continuously monitoring the evolving security environment and assessing our operations based on security guidance and intelligence reports."

Middle Eastern and European Carriers 

El Al said it has further canceled flights through next Monday June 23 to the following destinations: Berlin, Tbilisi, Barcelona, Batumi, Warsaw, Rhodes, Munich, Tivat, Lisbon, Tokyo, Krakow, Venice, Thessaloniki, Marseille, Crete (Heraklion), Kefalonia, Santorini, Chisinau, Belgrade, Tirana, Porto, Mykonos Lefkada and Moscow.

Lufthansa has canceled all services to Tel Aviv and Tehran up to and including July 31, with flights to Amman, Erbil and Beirut currently suspended through 20 June.

Meanwhile, Air France has suspended its Tel Aviv flights “until further notice” and the carrier is “closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East in real time”.

Other major European carriers, including British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are not currently flying to Israel.

Middle Eastern airlines, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, have suspended services to some countries in the region as well as rerouting some flights.

Dubai-based Emirates has suspended flights to Amman, Beirut, Tehran and the Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Basra until June 30, while services to Jordan and Lebanon have been cancelled until June 22. Flights to Tel Aviv are also suspended.

Etihad Airways has canceled all flights from Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv until June 22, and Qatar Airways has “temporarily canceled flights to Iran, Iraq and Syria due to the current situation in the region”.

The crisis has also led to United Airlines pausing flights to Tel Aviv up to and including July31, while Delta’s flights from New York’s JFK airport to Tel Aviv are suspended until Aug. 31.

Governments Evacuate and Warn

The crisis began June 13 when Israeli fighter jets attacked more than a dozen sites throughout Iran, including in Tehran. Israel, which said its intention was to damage Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, attacked nuclear, military and government sites throughout the country. Iran retaliated the same day, launching missiles that struck at sites throughout Israel, including Tel Aviv. Attacks from both countries have continued since, with casualties in the hundreds. 

Prior to Israel's strikes on Iran, the U.S. State Department pulled some personnel out of the Middle East, according to Reuters.  On Wednesday, the State Department updated its travel advisory for Iraq: "On June 11, the Department of State ordered the departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel due to heightened regional tensions."

Per the U.S. embassy in Israel's website, the department on Thursday restricted U.S. government employees and their family members from travel outside the greater Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva regions until further notice.

The State Department also had authorized voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait, according to Reuters.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office also issued a warning against all travel to Israel due to the conflict. “We recognise this is a fast-moving situation that poses significant risks,” said the FCDO in its travel advisory. “The situation has the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning. The current situation has disrupted air links out of the country and may disrupt road links.”

Other European countries including France and Germany have also issued similar warnings about travel to Israel and Iran.

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This story was updated June 16 with additional information about U.S., European and Middle Eastern airline flight suspensions and airspace closures.