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Geopolitical tensions from the eastern Mediterranean to the Gulf are reshaping how and where people travel in the Middle East, as airlines redraw flight paths, governments tighten advisories and passengers grapple with longer journeys, higher fares and fast-changing risk maps.
Airlines Skirt Iran and Iraq as Safety Warnings Mount
Airspace above Iran and parts of Iraq has become a focal point of aviation risk planning in early 2026. After Iran briefly closed much of its airspace via a notice to pilots on January 15, carriers from Europe, North America and Asia rushed to divert or cancel flights, and many have kept routes away from the region even after skies formally reopened.
Major European airlines including Lufthansa, British Airways, KLM, SWISS, Finnair and Wizz Air are now routinely bypassing Iranian and Iraqi airspace, routing services between Europe, the Gulf and South Asia over Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Central Asia or the Caucasus instead. Industry guidance from aviation regulators warning of a high risk of misidentification and potential use of weapons against civil aircraft has reinforced a cautious approach, with several groups declaring an avoidance policy "until further notice" rather than treating the episode as a one-off disruption.
The operational impact is immediate. Detours of hundreds of nautical miles add hours to some journeys, particularly for narrow-body aircraft on longer Middle East–Europe sectors that must make unplanned fuel stops. Analysts say these diversions, combined with higher fuel burn and extra crew costs, are adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of certain long-haul flights that used to cross Iran as the most direct corridor.
From Rerouting to Suspension: Network Cuts Across the Region
Where rerouting is not commercially viable, airlines have begun trimming their Middle East networks. Some European carriers temporarily halted flights to destinations such as Bahrain, Dubai and Tel Aviv during the January spike in tensions, before cautiously restoring limited operations under revised flight plans. Others continue to serve Gulf hubs but at reduced frequencies or only in daylight hours on routes seen as more exposed.
Asian airlines are also recalibrating. Indian carriers that once relied heavily on Iranian and Iraqi corridors for efficient links to Europe and Central Asia have diverted services through Saudi airspace or paused certain routes altogether. IndiGo, for example, has suspended flights to several Central Asian and Caucasus cities into late February, citing the broader Iran-focused security situation and advising affected passengers to rebook or seek refunds.
Gulf and Turkish carriers, whose networks hinge on connecting Europe, Africa and Asia through Middle East hubs, have adopted a mix of diversions and targeted cancellations. Airlines based in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha continue to feed global traffic through their hubs but are dispatching aircraft on longer tracks that swing north over Turkey and Central Asia or south via the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea, depending on daily risk assessments and available corridors.
Travel Advisories Redraw the Human Map of the Middle East
Alongside airspace decisions made by airlines and regulators, national foreign ministries are reshaping where tourists and business travelers are officially encouraged to go. Western governments, including the United Kingdom, Canada and others, now advise against non-essential travel to Israel and parts of the occupied territories, citing the potential for rapid escalation and the lingering threat of rockets or drones across a broad geographic area.
Warnings are even more stringent along some frontiers, where authorities label border zones with Lebanon and Gaza as areas where travel should not occur at all. These advisories come on top of longstanding "do not travel" notices for parts of Syria, Iraq and Yemen, creating a belt of restricted or discouraged movement that cuts across some of the Middle East’s most historically important overland and pilgrimage routes.
For travelers, the effect is twofold. Official advisories directly influence travel insurance coverage and corporate travel policies, often making trips impossible even when flights operate. They also shape perception, steering leisure visitors away from the wider region, not just the specific locations highlighted. Tour operators report that some travelers now avoid multi-stop itineraries that include Israel, Lebanon or nearby countries, preferring to transit via Gulf hubs or to postpone Middle East trips altogether.
Tourism, Connectivity and Costs in a Fragmented Airspace
The cumulative impact of rerouted flights and sterner advisories is a patchwork of winners and losers across the region. Countries whose airspace is considered relatively low risk, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and some Gulf states, are seeing more overflights and in some cases a modest uptick in transit tourism. Airlines are increasingly funnelling traffic through these corridors, reinforcing their status as indispensable waypoints between Europe, Asia and Africa.
By contrast, destinations at the center of current tensions are experiencing a sharp drop in international connectivity. Tehran’s international schedule, once hosting more than a hundred daily foreign flights, has been slashed as carriers avoid Iranian skies or cut direct links. Israel’s main gateway has kept a skeleton of international service with new routing constraints, but foreign tourist arrivals remain well below pre-crisis levels as travelers weigh security headlines against the practicalities of reaching the country.
For passengers still choosing to fly, the experience is changing in subtler ways. Longer routings mean extended flight times, tighter aircraft rotations and a greater risk of missed connections when delays cascade through hub banks. Industry experts advise booking longer layovers, monitoring airline apps for last-minute schedule changes and keeping documentation of disruptions to support claims with insurers or requests for reaccommodation.
What began as a technical issue of airspace closures has therefore become a broader travel story. As security calculations shift along with the political landscape, the map of Middle East travel is being continuously redrawn, flight by flight and advisory by advisory, affecting not only where people can go but how long it takes, how much it costs and which destinations remain within easy reach of the global traveler.