MOSCOW, March 6. /TASS/. American and Israeli attacks on Iran have left five countries in the Middle East without air connection for seven days already, an air traffic control source in the Middle East region told TASS.
"Immediately after the start of the attack on Iran in the morning of February 28, the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar was closed - it is now the seventh day since flights in the skies of these countries are prohibited," the source said.
He said that there is always a huge flow of transit flights through Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, connecting Europe with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Currently, transit aircraft from Oman's airspace fly over Saudi Arabia and then over Egypt.
"There has also been an increase in traffic in Pakistan's airspace, which has taken over transit flights previously flying over Iran," the source said.
There is also a huge number of connecting flights provided by the countries of the region.
Israel periodically stops flights in its skies. The airspace of the UAE and Syria is currently partially closed. For instance, there are several routes over the UAE that planes must follow to and from the local airports. The source previously said that depending on the situation flights over the UAE may also be limited.
In Syria, only three corridors are open to civil aviation - two from Aleppo airport towards the Turkish border and one from there towards the Mediterranean Sea to the area under the administration of Nicosia. The airport of the capital, Damascus, is closed until the end of the day on Saturday, March 7. The day before, Azerbaijan closed the southern sector of its airspace, including the one adjacent to the Iranian border.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran, hitting major cities, including Tehran. The White House justified the attack with missile and nuclear threats allegedly coming from Tehran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps retaliated with a sweeping attack on Israel. US facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were also attacked. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian figures were killed.