Airlines changed flight paths over Iran, cancelled some flights, diverted others to alternate airports or returned planes to their departure points in response to airspace and airport closures after the attack on Iran, flight tracking data showed, according to Reuters.
Iran closed its airports in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan and cleared flights from the western portion of its airspace for a few hours after the attack, according to flight tracking website [FlightRadar24][8]. By 4:45am GMT, the airports and airspace had reopened, and closure notices posted on a US Federal Aviation Administration database had been removed.
Before the airports reopened, Flydubai said it had cancelled its Friday flights to Iran. One of its earlier flights turned back to Dubai, it said. An Iran Air flight from Rome to Tehran was diverted to Ankara, Turkiye, Flightradar 24 showed.
Germany’s Lufthansa cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv and Erbil until Saturday and said it would fly around Iraqi airspace during the same period.
“The safety of passengers and crews is always the top priority,” it said.
Emirates, Flydubai, Turkish Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Belavia were among the carriers continuing to fly over the part of Iran’s airspace that remained open in the initial hours after the attack early on Friday, the tracking website showed.