Airlines have rerouted multiple flights and changed their routes to avoid airspace over Israel following Iran's ballistic missile attack on the country on Tuesday. The decision was made in response to growing tensions in the region and safety warnings from air traffic control services, Reuters reports, quoted by News.bg.
Popular flight tracking service FlightRadar24 reported that around 80 flights, including those of major airlines such as Emirates, British Airways, Lufthansa and Qatar Airways, were diverted to safer destinations such as Cairo, Istanbul and European cities. This led to significant congestion at Istanbul and Antalya airports, forcing some airlines to look for alternative routes to the south.
In response to the attacks, the airspaces of Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon were temporarily closed, but Iraq later resumed flights in its airspace.
The situation represents another blow to the aviation industry, which is already affected by other regional conflicts, including tensions between Israel and Hamas, as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Today, a "Wiz Air" flight was canceled from Sofia Airport. to Tel Aviv. Airlines are urging passengers to monitor their emails and mobile phone messages for up-to-date information on canceled, delayed or diverted flights.