The Middle East’s air freight sector is under growing pressure as escalating military tensions between Iran, Israel, and the United States disrupt commercial aviation across the region.

The latest missile attack by Iran on a U.S. base in Qatar, and the broader fallout from U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, have triggered widespread flight cancellations, airspace closures, and rerouted cargo and passenger operations.

Airlines are scrambling to adapt as multiple conflict zones emerge across a region already critical to global east-west air corridors. Since the initial Israeli strikes on Iran began, airspace closures over Iran, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Israel have created a vast void on regional radar screens, impacting both passenger and cargo operations.

Cancellations spread across key hubs

Flights to major Gulf gateways such as Dubai, Doha, and Riyadh have been cancelled or rerouted by a growing list of international airlines. British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France KLM, American Airlines, and United Airlines are among those halting services to key Middle Eastern destinations, with some suspending operations until late June or beyond. Several BA flights between Heathrow and the Gulf have been diverted mid-route or forced to turn back due to changing airspace restrictions.

Regional carriers have also scaled back. Emirates, FlyDubai, Qatar Airways, Etihad, and SalamAir have all suspended services to high-risk destinations including Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. Etihad has paused all flights to Tel Aviv until mid-July, while Qatar Airways has pulled flights to Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Disruption to cargo services

While many wide-body passenger flights, which also carry belly-hold cargo, are affected, major freighter operators such as Qatar Airways Cargo and Emirates SkyCargo continue to run services.

However, delays are inevitable where shipments were booked on cancelled passenger flights, and rerouting adds time, cost, and complexity to operations.

Detours via the Caspian Sea or southern corridors over Egypt and Saudi Arabia are being used to avoid volatile zones, but these longer routings increase fuel burn and raise crew management challenges. The threat of GPS jamming and spoofing, now increasingly reported over the Persian Gulf, adds further operational risk.

The situation remains fluid, with safety warnings from aviation risk monitoring bodies highlighting the elevated danger to U.S. affiliated aircraft and flagged the potential for broader targeting across Gulf states.

Source: https://logicall.com/blog/air-freight-under-strain-amid-escalating-middle-east-conflict/ 

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