Thousands of flights intended to depart from the Middle East have been canceled amid the expanding conflict between Iran and joint U.S.-Israeli forces.
More than 6,000 flights from countries in the region have been canceled as of Tuesday, with major airlines diverting trips for the next two days amid regional instability, according to FlightAware.
Delta Air Lines suspended flights from Tel Aviv to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport through March 9.
British Airways is not allowing flights from Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Amman and Tel Aviv to depart, but said a flight from Oman would go ahead on Thursday with seats assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.
Etihad Airways and Air France said flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi are postponed until at least Thursday.
Emirates suspended flights to and from Abu Dhabi until Wednesday, but is continuing to operate a limited number of passenger repatriation and freighter flights.
“We are accommodating customers with earlier bookings as a priority on these limited flights. Please do not go to the airport unless you have been notified directly by Emirates, or hold a confirmed booking for these flights,” the company wrote in a statement on the social platform X.
Lufthansa Group airlines suspended flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Amman, Erbil and Tehran until March 8. The company also said it will not use airspace in Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dammam and Iran until at least next week.
Lufthansa Group’s flights out of the United Arab Emirates, which is generally considered a safe haven in the region, have also been suspended until Friday.
Qatar Airways said all flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace.
“Qatar Airways will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the safe reopening of Qatari airspace,” the company wrote Tuesday in a post on X, noting it will provide another update on Wednesday.
Airlines based in India have also shared cancellations, with Air India canceling 28 flights.
Americans have been encouraged to leave more than a dozen countries in the Middle East. The State Department has instructed Americans to leave Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen due to “serious safety risks.”
When asked why no evacuation plan was in place for Americans in the region before the strikes began on Saturday, President Trump said “because it happened all very quickly,” while speaking to reporters in the White House on Tuesday.
“We thought and I thought, maybe more so than most, I could ask [Secretary of State] Marco [Rubio], but I thought we were going to have a situation where we were going to be attacked. They were getting ready to attack Israel, they were getting ready to attack others, you’re seeing that right now,” Trump said.
Three U.S. embassies in the Middle East remain closed due to regional tensions.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the best option for Americans trying to leave the country is to depart Israel via Egypt.
“As of now, the best is utilizing Israel’s Ministry of Tourism shuttle bus to Taba, Egypt and getting flights from there or going on to Cairo for flights back to the US,” wrote in a post on X.
Buses will be stationed at meeting points in cities across Israel including Herzliya, Haifa, Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, he said.
The United Kingdom has announced that it will work to help 200,000 British nationals depart dangerous areas in the Middle East.
