Sawt Falasteen - Airlines halt many Middle East flights after Israel hits Iran

Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria closed their airspaces after Israel hit military and nuclear facilities in Iran. Israel said Tehran launched drones in retaliation.

Air India's New Delhi-Vienna and Mumbai-London flights were about to enter Iranian airspace when Israel launched its attack, forcing the planes to turn back to their origin, according to aircraft tracker Flight Aware.

Its London-New Delhi flight had just entered Iranian airspace and was rerouted over Iraq before arriving in India one hour late, according to Flight Aware.

Air India diverted or called back a total of 16 flights between India and London and cities in Canada and the United States "due to the emerging situation in Iran".

Emirates, the Middle East's largest airline, cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran after Israel launched the strikes.

Qatar Airways, the country's national carrier and one of the Middle East's largest, said it had "temporarily cancelled flights to Iran and Iraq due to (the) current situation in the region".

Air France said it was suspending its flights to and from Tel Aviv "until further notice" following the closure of Israeli airspace.

"Air France is closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East in real time," a spokesman for the French airline told AFP, adding that "the safety of its customers and crews is its absolute priority".

Russia's aviation authority Rosaviatsiya instructed Russian airlines not to fly "in the airspace of Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Iran" or use airports in Israel and Iran.

It said the restrictions will stay in place until June 26 or until further notice.

German airline group Lufthansa suspended flights to and from Tehran until July 31. It also extended the suspension of Tel Aviv flights for the same period.

Swiss airline, which is owned by Lufthansa, suspended its Tel Aviv flights until October 25 while those to Beirut were suspended until the end of July.

In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi airport warned "flight disruptions are expected through today (Friday)" as a result of the Israeli strikes.

Dubai's airport also announced flight delays and cancellations due to the closure of airspaces in Iran, Iraq and Syria.

G.AbuGhazaleh--SF-PST