---
title: "Airlines weigh Middle East cancellations after US strikes in Iran strand thousands"
description: "June 23 (Reuters) - Commercial airlines around the world on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights after the US struck Iran."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "Newsdeck"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-06-23-airlines-weigh-middle-east-cancellations-after-us-strikes-in-iran-strand-thousands/"
published: "2025-06-23T04:51:52"
updated: "2025-06-23T04:51:54"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 304
---

# Airlines weigh Middle East cancellations after US strikes in Iran strand thousands

> June 23 (Reuters) - Commercial airlines around the world on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights after the US struck Iran.

By Reuters · Published 23 June 2025, 06:51 SAST · Updated 23 June 2025, 06:51 SAST

## Key points
- As airlines scramble to dodge missile-laden skies and rising oil prices, the Middle East's airspace has turned into a high-stakes game of flight chess, with Singapore Airlines and others hitting the brakes on routes to Dubai and beyond, while Israel preps for a mass exodus of anxious travelers.
- Singapore Airlines cancels flights to Dubai amid a "fluid" security situation, reflecting heightened risks in the region.
- Air France KLM and British Airways follow suit, suspending services to Dubai and Riyadh as tensions escalate.
- U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites raise concerns over airline safety and potential increases in jet fuel prices.
- Israel launches "rescue flights" for stranded travelers, planning 24 daily flights despite capacity limits.

## Content

By Jack Queen

Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI, one of the highest-profile in Asia, had called the situation "fluid" on Sunday as it cancelled flights from Singapore to Dubai following a security assessment.

The Middle East route has become more important for flights between Europe and Asia since Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed due to war, but flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed empty space over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel.

Air France KLM AIRF.PA said on Sunday that it cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday. British Airways, owned by IAG [ICAG.L,](https://workspace.refinitiv.com/web/apps/quotewebapi?RIC=ICAG.L) also cancelled flights to and from Dubai and Doha for Sunday. It was still reviewing the situation, it said in a statement on Sunday evening, when asked about later flights.

Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic, and an organization that monitors flight risks, Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, warned on Sunday that U.S. attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites could heighten the threat to American operators in the region.

In the days before the U.S. strikes, American Airlines AAL.O suspended flights to Qatar and United Airlines UAL.O did the same with flights to Dubai.

Airlines are also concerned about a potential spike in oil prices following the U.S. attacks, which will increase the cost of jet fuel. O/R

Israel meanwhile is ramping up flights to help stranded travellers at home and abroad. The country's Airports Authority says that so-called rescue flights to the country would expand on Monday with 24 a day, although each flight would be limited to 50 passengers. Israeli airline El Al on Sunday said it had received applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in about a day.

(Reporting by Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Sonali Paul)