Carriers across Europe, North America and Asia reported widespread suspensions, with routes to key destinations such as Tel Aviv, Beirut and Gulf cities either halted or significantly curtailed.

Greece’s Aegean Airlines said it had cancelled flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut and Amman until April 22, and to Erbil and Baghdad until May 24, while suspending Dubai routes until April 19 and Riyadh until April 18.

Latvia’s airBaltic halted Tel Aviv services until April 5 and Dubai flights until October 24.

Air Canada suspended Tel Aviv flights until May 2 and Dubai routes until March 28, while Spain’s Air Europa cancelled Tel Aviv operations until April 10.

Air France said it had cancelled flights to Tel Aviv and Beirut until March 21 and to Dubai and Riyadh until March 20. KLM suspended services to Riyadh, Dammam and Dubai until March 28 and paused Tel Aviv flights for the rest of its winter season.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific said all passenger and cargo flights to Dubai and Riyadh would remain cancelled until April 30, reflecting continued uncertainty in regional airspace.

U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines said flights between New York and Tel Aviv were cancelled through the end of March, with further suspensions extending into August for some routes.Israel’s El Al said regular flights were cancelled until March 21.

Gulf carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways said they were operating reduced and limited schedules respectively following a partial reopening of regional airspace.

Finnair said it had cancelled Dubai flights until March 29 and Doha flights until April 2, continuing to avoid the airspace of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Israel.

The aviation authority had briefly closed the country’s airspace as regional security risks escalated, after the defence ministry said it was responding to incoming aerial threats from Iran.

The suspension of air traffic was described by officials as a precautionary step amid rapidly evolving developments in the region. No timeline was provided for the duration of the closure, but operations were restored within hours once the situation stabilised.

Authorities did not disclose details on the scale or origin of the threats beyond confirming missile and drone activity, nor did they indicate any damage or casualties linked to the incident.

The General Civil Aviation Authority said the measures were implemented to ensure the safety of airspace users and aligned with standard protocols during security contingencies.

The reopening signals that risk levels were assessed to have subsided sufficiently for normal operations to resume.

The UAE is a major global aviation hub, and even brief airspace closures can affect regional and international flight schedules, though no specific disruptions were detailed in the official statements.

The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, where cross-border threats involving drones and missiles have increasingly prompted rapid defensive responses and precautionary restrictions on civilian infrastructure, including aviation corridors.

Officials have not issued further advisories following the resumption of air traffic.

The outbreak of war in the Middle East has placed hundreds of ballistic missiles and attack drones into airspace near major regional hubs, raising safety concerns for commercial aviation as retaliatory strikes and military activity disrupt normal flight operations.

Iran’s response to U.S. and Israeli attacks has included strikes that hit airports and forced the grounding of numerous flights across the Gulf, from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and prompting emergency rescue flights to evacuate some travelers.

Industry experts and pilots say the risks confronting civilian aviation have steadily increased as armed conflicts across multiple regions have restricted available flight corridors and introduced new military threats into commercial airspace.

Reuters interviewed eight airline pilots and more than half a dozen aviation and security specialists who said the accumulation of wars in regions including Ukraine, Afghanistan and Israel has tightened airspace and forced pilots to operate in increasingly complex conditions.

These constraints require pilots to navigate around restricted zones, rapidly changing security advisories and new hazards posed by unmanned aerial systems and missile activity far beyond traditional combat areas.

The pressure is compounded by the need to make quick operational decisions to ensure passenger safety while maintaining adherence to strict aviation protocols.

The aviation sector has also seen a surge in disruptive technologies affecting air navigation, including drones and GPS spoofing, a form of electronic interference that can mislead aircraft navigation systems about their location.I

ndustry specialists say these factors have worsened airspace safety over the past two and a half years as conflicts expand and new technologies are increasingly deployed in military and hybrid warfare.

Drone incursions have not been limited to conflict zones. European airports have also experienced disruptions linked to unauthorized drones, adding to safety concerns for commercial aircraft operating in busy flight corridors.

Pilots say the growing overlap between military operations and civilian aviation is creating a challenging environment for crews trained primarily for commercial transport.

“We are not military pilots. We are not trained to deal with these kinds of threats in the air,” Tanja Harter, president of the European Cockpit Association and a pilot with experience in the Middle East, told Reuters.

Harter said the succession of global crises affecting aviation in recent years could create fear and anxiety among pilots responsible for passenger safety.Airlines have increasingly introduced peer support programs to help pilots cope with stress related to security threats and operational uncertainty, she added.

The intensifying conflict has already caused disruptions to international flight operations.An Air France flight dispatched to repatriate stranded French nationals from the United Arab Emirates turned back on Thursday due to missile activity in the region.A pilot for Lufthansa diverted a flight from Riyadh to Cairo on Friday after assessing potential security risks linked to the regional escalation.

Aviation analysts say such diversions reflect the broader challenge facing airlines attempting to maintain operations amid rapidly evolving security conditions.With missile launches, drone activity and shifting conflict lines affecting large sections of Middle Eastern airspace, pilots and airlines are increasingly reliant on real-time intelligence and international coordination to avoid potential threats.

The growing overlap between military operations and civilian flight paths is forcing aviation authorities and airlines to continually reassess risk calculations as the conflict reshapes the security landscape for global air travel.