Major airports across the Middle East remain hampered by airspace restrictions, intermittent closures and security threats as a widening conflict involving Iran, Israel, the United States and several Gulf states enters its third week. Drone and missile attacks have targeted infrastructure near key aviation hubs, stranding travelers and forcing airlines to cancel or reroute flights.
The crisis stems from U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets beginning late February, prompting retaliatory actions that have closed large swaths of airspace over Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria. Gulf nations including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia have reported intercepts of incoming projectiles, with civilian airports caught in the crossfire.
