Gulf airspace reopened after temporary closure amid Iran’ strike on US base

DOHA: After several hours of closure, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain reopened their airspace as Iran’s missile attack on a US air base in Doha has severely disrupted flight operations across the region. 

Despite no announcement by the UAE and Saudi Arabia to close their airspace, flight operations were severely disrupted.

Hundreds of flights from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Jeddah, Medina, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, and other airports were diverted to different airports or redirected back to their departure points.

Due to the complete closure of Doha Airport, more than 200 flights were diverted to alternative airports or flights were suspended at various airports.

Due to the sudden closure of the airspace, the departures of 200 flights at Doha Airport were affected.

Similarly, 150 flights were stopped at Bahrain Airport, and 100 flights were also stopped at Kuwait City Airport.

14 flights from Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and other cities to Bahrain, Sharjah, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Medina, and Muscat were diverted.

30 flights from 7 major airports in the country were stopped for several hours. However, 2 hours later, flights started arriving and departing at Dubai and Abu Dhabi airports.

Earlier, the national airline PIA also announced a temporary suspension of flight operations. More than 20 major airlines around the world, including Air Canada, Air France, British Airways, United Airlines, and  Singapore Airlines, have started suspending flights to the Gulf, while thousands of passengers are also avoiding travel due to the uncertainty.

Turkish Airlines has announced the cancellation of flights to Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, and Muscat today. Egypt has also suspended flight operations to the Gulf.