NEW YORK, March 3. /TASS/. More than 11,000 flights have been canceled due to escalating situation in the Middle East, affecting at least 1.5 mln passengers, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Airlines are facing challenges that "far surpass" the complications of previous conflicts in the region. Following mass flight cancellations, air carriers are facing higher fuel costs and difficult route changes, according to the publication. "The situation far surpasses anything we've seen in the Middle East previously," Matt Borie, chief intelligence officer at aviation risk firm Osprey, said about Iran’s response to large-scale attacks by Israel and the United States.
Changing routes to bypass the region increases the idle time of airliners, which not only leads to increased fuel consumption but also violates tightly regulated schedules that account for mandatory crew rest time and expensive take-off and landing slots at airports, according to the publication.
The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power. As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit. The countries in the region are closing their airspace, while airlines are suspending flights.