After Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, the aviation industry has reported the "biggest airline disruption" since the 9/11 terror attacks in the United States. Iran's attack on Israel on Monday has caused chaos in across the globe, causing at least a dozen airlines, including Air India, to cancel or re-route flights.
As per a Reuters report, over the last two days, Qantas, Lufthansa, United Airlines and Air India have had to cancel or re-route their flights in order to avoid Iranian and Israeli airspace.
Air India announced on Sunday that it would be halting all flights to Tel Aviv due to the growing tensions between Iran and Israel. The flights to Israel had resumed on March 3, after a five-month hiatus period due to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Along with Air India, Vistara also announced that it would be avoiding Iranian airspace and provided options with the longer flight path for travel to the US and Europe.
Speaking to Reuters, Mark Zee, the founder of OPSGROUP, Iran's attack on Israel has resulted in the "biggest single disruption to air travel since the attack on the World Trade Centre".
"Not since then have we had a situation with that many different air spaces closed down in that quick succession, and that creates chaos," the OPSGROUP founder told Reuters.
As global airlines work towards avoiding Iranian airspace, Zee added that the only viable routes for travel to Europe or the US is through Turkey or Egypt and Saudi Arabia. However, the ongoing Gaza war has raised concerns about the safety of passengers and crew flying over the Middle Eastern region.
Iran Takes 'Revenge' On Israel After Syria Attacks
In response to an alleged Israeli strike in Damascus, Iran launched an attack on Israel in order to "take revenge". The strike in Syria targeted the Iranian Consulate in Damascus and resulted in the death of seven people, including two generals of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Over 300 projectiles - 170 drones and over 120 missiles were fired towards Israel in an overnight attack. As per IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, around 350 rockets from Yemen, Iran, Iraq and Lebanon's Hezbollah were also fired towards Israel.
While Israel claims that 99 percent of the strikes were intercepted by its Iron Dome system, it will wait for the "right time" to retaliate against Iran. Israeli war cabinet minister Benny Gantz has recently stated that Tel Aviv will "exact the price from Iran" for the unprecedented attacks.
