Qatar Airways suspends Iran, Lebanon flights, joining growing list of airlines
Amid conflict in Gaza and Lebanon, few airlines are operating in and out of Tel Aviv, and fewer still in and out of Beirut and Tehran.
Qatar Airways on Wednesday announced the suspension of its flights to and from Lebanon and Iran until further notice, joining a long list of airlines that have halted service to the two countries.
The Qatari airline cited the "current situation in the Middle East region" as the reason for their cancellation, referring to the ongoing wars in Gaza and Lebanon and the impending Israeli strike on Iran.
Qatar Airways also announced it would operate flights to Amman, Jordan and Iraq only “during daylight hours.”
When Iran struck Israel with a barrage of at least 180 ballistic missiles on Oct. 1, missiles flew over up Jordanian and Iraqi airspace before reaching Israel — likely the reason behind Qatar Airways’ daytime-only flights.
The promised Israeli strike on Iran, a continued Israeli military campaign against Hamas in Gaza and Israel’s ground invasion and bombing of Lebanon with the aim of eliminating Hezbollah have resulted in widespread cancellation of flights to the region.
Israel
British Airways, American Airlines and Delta Airlines have announced suspensions of their Israel flights until the end of March 2025. United Airlines has canceled flights to Israel until further notice.
The Netherlands’ KLM has suspended flights until the end of 2024. Germany’s Lufthansa Group — which includes Swiss, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings — has cancelled flights until the end of October, along with Air France.
El Al, an Israeli airline, is the only airline operating direct flights between the United States and Israel; two UAE carriers, FlyDubai and Etihad Airways, have resumed flights as well.
Lebanon
Nearly all airlines have suspended commercial flights in and out of Lebanon amid Israel’s ground invasion and bombing campaign in the country’s south and its capital.
Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, remains the only airline offering flights in and out of Beirut’s Rafic Hariri airport, located in the southern suburbs of the capital, where Israeli strikes have been concentrated.
Iran
As Iran awaits Israel’s promised retaliation for the Oct. 1 Iranian missile attack, airlines have avoided Iranian airspace.
The UAE’s Emirates airline, which has already cancelled flights to Beirut through October, did the same with its flights to Tehran, alongside Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, and Lufthansa.
Ticket prices to and from Iran have skyrocketed, both because of the impending Israeli strike and because of new EU sanctions on Iranian airlines, including Iran Air, Mahan Air, and Saha Airlines. The sanctions resulted in Iran Air, the only remaining Iranian airline flying between EU countries and Iran, suspending its services to Europe on Oct. 14.
As Iran braces for the strike, Israel has continued its military campaign in Lebanon and in Gaza. Since Oct. 8, 2023, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has killed 2,574 people in Lebanon and injured over 12,000 others.
Gaza’s Health Ministry on Wednesday announced that the death toll since Oct. 7 has surpassed 42,000 people, with over 100,000 others injured.
