Almost half of all scheduled flights from London Heathrow to the Middle East have been cancelled today as the fallout from US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran triggers widespread aviation disruption across the region, with Iran retaliating by firing ballistic missiles and drones at targets including Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan.
Aviation analytics firm Cirium confirmed that 24 of the 56 Heathrow departures bound for Middle Eastern destinations on Sunday 1 March have been cancelled. All three scheduled flights to Israel and both departures to Bahrain have been grounded. Eight of nine Qatar-bound services and nine of seventeen UAE flights have also been cancelled. One of eight Saudi Arabia departures and one of two Jordan flights have been pulled, while services to Egypt, Oman and Turkey appear unaffected so far.
At Gatwick, Emirates and Qantas flights to Dubai have been grounded alongside Qatar Airways routes to Doha and Air India’s service to Amritsar.
Major carriers including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have suspended services to the region. All flights in and out of both Dubai International and Al Maktoum International airports have been fully suspended following Iranian retaliatory strikes. Dubai International, the world’s busiest airport for passenger traffic, suffered damage in the attacks, as did two luxury hotels in the city. Four people were injured at the airport. A separate drone targeting Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi was intercepted, though falling debris killed one person.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has issued advice against all travel to the region, prompting airlines to accelerate cancellations across affected routes.
Iran launched the retaliatory wave of missiles and drones in response to the US-Israeli strikes on Saturday, which President Trump has described as already a success and which are believed to have killed a significant number of senior Iranian officials including defence leadership figures named by the Israeli military.
Passengers with bookings to affected destinations are advised to check directly with their airline before travelling to either airport.
