The war in the Middle East has triggered a massive disruption to global aviation, with tens of thousands of flights cancelled and major air corridors shut as countries close their airspace amid missile and drone attacks.
Khaleej Times reported that more than 40,000 flights have been cancelled across the Middle East since February 28 due to the ongoing regional military conflict, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The cancellations come out of over 72,000 flights that were originally scheduled to operate in and out of the region between February 28 and March 9.
Air travel across the region was severely disrupted after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, followed by retaliatory strikes from Iran targeting several countries in the region.
Airspace closures forced airlines to reroute, divert or cancel services, causing widespread schedule disruptions at major hub airports across the Gulf.
Airlines in the UAE and other Gulf countries that were affected by Iranian missile and drone attacks have gradually resumed limited operations after suspending flights for several days.
Authorities in the UAE and neighbouring Gulf states have also established a temporary air corridor to allow a restricted number of flights to operate.
However, congestion and operational disruptions continue at major regional airports due to altered flight paths and restricted airspace.
Airlines operating routes through the affected airspace face the most immediate financial impact as thousands of flights remain grounded.
Fitch said carriers whose hubs are located in directly affected countries are likely to suffer the greatest revenue losses due to the large number of cancelled flights.
The continuing uncertainty over the conflict has also raised concerns about further disruptions to global travel routes linking Europe, Asia and the Middle East.