Airlines Cancel Flights after US, Israel Strikes on Iran

28 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Smoke billows following an explosion in Tehran. Photo: Tasnim News Agency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
28 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Smoke billows following an explosion in Tehran. Photo: Tasnim News Agency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Airlines Cancel Flights after US, Israel Strikes on Iran

28 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Smoke billows following an explosion in Tehran. Photo: Tasnim News Agency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
28 February 2026, Iran, Tehran: Smoke billows following an explosion in Tehran. Photo: Tasnim News Agency/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Global airlines cancelled flights across the Middle East on Saturday after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, plunging the region into a new conflict, Reuters reported.

Airspace over Iran and Iraq was empty on Saturday morning, maps by flight-tracking service Flightradar24 showed.

Below is the latest on flights listed by airline in alphabetical order:

AIR FRANCE KLM Air France cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel and Beirut in Lebanon for Saturday. KLM brought forward the suspension of its Amsterdam–Tel Aviv service, cancelling the flight scheduled for Saturday.

The Dutch arm of Air France-KLM had announced on Wednesday that flights would be halted from Sunday, but has now advanced that date.

Only one flight to Tel Aviv had ⁠been scheduled for ⁠Saturday.

IBERIA EXPRESS The Spanish airline owned by Iberia Group cancelled a flight to Tel Aviv scheduled for Saturday at 5 p.m. local time.

INDIGO The airline said it was monitoring regional updates.

JAPAN AIRLINES Japan Airlines cancelled a flight on Saturday from Tokyo Haneda to Doha as well as a return flight on March 1, Nikkei said.

LOT POLISH AIRLINES LOT Polish Airlines returned its flight LO121 from Warsaw to Dubai ⁠to Warsaw.

LUFTHANSA The German airline suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel, Beirut in Lebanon, and Oman until March 7 and flights to and from Dubai on Saturday and Sunday. They also said they would not fly through Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi and Iranian airspace until March 7.

NORWEGIAN AIR The Nordic airline suspended all flights to and from Dubai on Saturday, a company spokesperson said. The carrier did not suspend flights to Tel Aviv in Israel or Beirut in Lebanon as these destinations are only active in summer, he added.

SCANDINAVIAN AIRLINES The airline told Reuters it had suspended its flight to Tel Aviv from ⁠Copenhagen on Saturday. ⁠No decision had been made regarding flights on later dates.

TURKISH AIRLINES The airline cancelled flights to Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman on Saturday and flights to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran and Jordan until March 2.

VIRGIN ATLANTIC Virgin Atlantic said it will temporarily avoid Iraqi airspace, resulting in some pre-planned rerouting of its flights and cancelled its VS400 service from London Heathrow to Dubai on Saturday.

QATAR AIRWAYS The airline said it has temporarily suspended flights to and from Doha due to the closure of Qatari airspace.

WIZZ AIR The airline halted flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Amman with immediate effect until March 7.

It added that operational decisions would continue to be reviewed, and the flight schedule could be adjusted as the situation evolves.



Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
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Mojtaba Khamenei Says Closure of Strait of Hormuz Should be Used as 'Leverage'

(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture obtained from Iran's ISNA news agency, Mojtaba Khamenei (C), son of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, walks along a street in Tehran on May 31, 2019. (Photo by Hamid FOROUTAN / ISNA / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement on the war on Thursday, saying that the leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used.

Khamenei called on people in Gulf countries to “shut down” US bases, saying promised US protection is “nothing more than a lie.”

Khamenei did not appear on camera. Israeli intelligence assessed that he was likely wounded in the war’s opening salvo, which he said also killed his wife, one of his sisters, his niece and his father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

US President Donald Trump has promised to “finish the job,” even as Iran is “virtually destroyed.” The first week of the war cost the United States $11.3 billion, according to the Pentagon.

“One point I must emphasize is that, in any case, we will obtain compensation from the enemy,” Khamenei said.

“If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent.”

 

 

 

 


Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
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Russia Condemns Trump Comments on 'Takeover' of Cuba

US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
US President Donald Trump greets Russian President Vladimir Putin, Aug. 15, 2025, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

Russia condemned on Thursday what it called blackmail and threats by US President Donald Trump to initiate a "takeover" of Cuba, a traditional ally of Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow would provide all possible political and diplomatic support to Cuba and called for a diplomatic solution to the tensions with Washington, Reuters reported.

Trump said on Monday that Cuba was in "deep trouble" and that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was dealing with the issue, which may or may not be a "friendly takeover."


Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
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Trump Says Stopping a Nuclear Iran More Important than Oil Prices

US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026.  REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
US President Donald Trump talks to the media upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, March 11, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons was more important to him than controlling oil prices, Reuters reported.

"The United States is the largest Oil Producer in the World, by far, so when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money. BUT, of far greater interest and importance to me, as President, is stopping an evil Empire, Iran, from having Nuclear Weapons, and destroying the Middle East and, indeed, the World," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform.