Iran Temporarily Closes Airspace Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Iran Temporarily Closes Airspace Amid Rising Regional Tensions

WASHINGTON: Iran temporarily closed its airspace to most flights on Wednesday, allowing only international services with official permission, according to a notice posted on the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) website.

The restriction came into effect at 5:15 p.m. ET and was set to last until 7:30 p.m. ET (0030 GMT), though authorities said it could be extended.

The move comes amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. A US official said Washington was withdrawing some personnel from its bases in the region after a senior Iranian official warned that Tehran had cautioned neighboring countries it would target American bases if the United States carried out strikes.

Missile and drone attacks across multiple conflict zones are increasingly posing serious risks to civilian aviation. India’s largest airline, IndiGo, said several of its international flights would be affected by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. Russia’s Aeroflot also confirmed that one of its flights bound for Tehran was forced to return to Moscow, according to Flightradar24 data.

Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a fresh directive advising its airlines to avoid Iranian airspace. The warning followed Lufthansa’s decision to reorganize its Middle East operations due to rising security concerns.

The United States already bans all US commercial flights from overflying Iran, and there are no direct air services between the two countries. In recent days, airlines including flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran.

“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” Safe Airspace, a flight-risk monitoring website run by OPSGROUP, said in a statement. It warned that the situation could point to further military activity, including missile launches or heightened air defense operations, increasing the risk of misidentification of civilian aircraft.

Lufthansa said on Wednesday it would continue to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice. The airline added that it would operate only daytime flights to Tel Aviv and Amman through Monday next week to prevent crews from having to stay overnight. Some flights may be canceled as a result, it said.

Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which the Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, also announced it would suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.