On Friday, airspace over Israel, Iran, Iraq, and Jordan was cleared following Israel’s military strikes on Iranian targets, as reported by Flightradar24. Airlines responded by diverting flights and canceling operations to ensure the safety of their passengers and crew.
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On Friday, Israel announced that its attacks were aimed at Iran’s nuclear installations, missile production sites, and military leadership, initiating what it described as a lengthy campaign to thwart Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv was closed indefinitely, with Israel’s defense units remaining on high alert for potential retaliatory actions from Iran.
El Al Airlines, Israel’s national carrier, stated that it had halted all flights to and from Israel, relocating some aircraft outside the country.
Israir, another Israeli airline, mentioned it was pulling its planes from Tel Aviv, anticipating that the airport would remain shut throughout the weekend.
Numerous international airlines had already suspended services to and from Tel Aviv following a missile strike from Yemen’s Houthi rebels that landed near the airport on May 4.
9-second video showing the clearing of Iranian and Iraqi airspace. pic.twitter.com/VZLWbmk9sC
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) June 13, 2025
According to state media and pilot notices, Iranian airspace has been closed indefinitely.
Air India, which utilizes Iranian airspace for flights to Europe and North America, announced that several of its routes, including those from New York, Vancouver, Chicago, and London, were being diverted or returned to their points of origin.
Lufthansa confirmed that its flights to Tehran have been suspended indefinitely and that it would temporarily avoid flying over Iranian, Iraqi, and Israeli airspace.
Emirates Airlines canceled all flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iran following the Israeli strikes but did not provide immediate comments when approached for further information.
Iraq’s state media reported that the country closed its airspace and halted all airport operations early on Friday.
The region of eastern Iraq near the Iranian border is known for being one of the busiest air corridors globally, with numerous flights operating between Europe and the Gulf, particularly those from Asia to Europe.
Jordan, located between Israel and Iraq, closed its airspace a few hours after the launch of Israel’s military operations.
Flight Diversions
According to Safe Airspace, a service provided by OPSGROUP that specializes in flight risk assessments, air traffic has begun diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi Arabia or north through Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.
Six airlines, including Etihad Airways and Turkish Airlines, have reported diversions to Baku, Azerbaijan, via Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
An Emirates flight en route from Manchester to Dubai was rerouted to Istanbul, while a flydubai flight from Belgrade had to divert to Yerevan, Armenia.
Budget airline flydubai announced the suspension of services to Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Iran and Israel, with multiple flights either canceled, rerouted, or returning to their originating airports.
Qatar Airways also canceled its two scheduled flights to Damascus on Friday, as per Flightradar24 data.
Last year, Middle Eastern airspace saw around 1,400 flights crossing daily between Europe and other destinations, according to Eurocontrol statistics.