US, Israeli attacks lead to airspace closure, airlines suspend flights, Iran responds to aviation news

At least eight countries, including Iran, Israel, Jordan and Qatar, have closed their airspace as global air travel has been severely hit. 2 minsinfo Published on February 28, 2026 February 2026 Click here to share on social media share2Shareplus2google Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo A wave of US and Israeli attacks on Iran and retaliation by Tehran has triggered an outbreak of regional violence that has forced the closure of much of the Middle East’s airspace and has reverberated around the world. When clashes broke out on Saturday, at least eight countries announced they were closing their airspace, including Iran, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Syria also announced that it had closed part of its southern airspace on the border with Israel for 12 hours. The blockade follows U.S. and Israeli attacks across Iran that U.S. President Donald Trump has promised will destroy Iran’s missile industry and destroy its navy. Iran, which had been in talks with the United States over its nuclear program before the attack, promised a harsh response and soon began launching retaliatory strikes against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. military assets, including Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. “All American and Israeli assets and interests in the Middle East have been legitimate targets,” a senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera. “There are no red lines after this aggression, anything is possible.” The disruption caused global airlines to cancel or reroute flights from across the Middle East, which has become an important route for flights between Europe and Asia as Russian and Ukrainian airspace is closed to most airlines due to the war there. Russian airlines have suspended flights to Iran and Israel, the Russian Transport Ministry said. Air India said it would avoid the Middle East entirely for the time being. Other airlines announcing suspensions to destinations in the region include Lufthansa, Air France, Iberia, Wizz Air, Turkish Airlines, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, British Airways, Aegean Airlines, IndiGo, Japan Airlines and Scandinavian Airlines. Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem reports from Doha that joint U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran and Iran’s response have affected many Gulf states, creating two “parallel” conflicts and further fueling instability. “This could make the entire crisis intertwined and complex in a way that the region has never seen before,” Hashim said.