which airports are closed in middle east

June 28, 2026

Airports and airspace across parts of the Middle East are currently partially shut or heavily restricted , mainly around the Gulf hubs and conflict areas, with many flights canceled or suspended.

Key airport closures right now

Here’s what is effectively closed or mostly non‑operational for normal passenger traffic due to airspace shutdowns and security concerns.

Major Gulf hubs

Dubai International (DXB), Dubai World Central/Al Maktoum (DWC), Zayed International Abu Dhabi (AUH)
- All flights suspended after UAE closed its airspace; services to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi are temporarily halted by Emirates and Etihad.

* This has stranded tens of thousands of passengers, as these airports normally see around 90,000+ connecting travelers per day on Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad alone.

Hamad International, Doha (DOH), Qatar
- Qatar’s airspace is closed and Qatar Airways has suspended all flights to and from Doha , effectively shutting the airport to regular commercial traffic until at least Monday morning (local).

Israel and surrounding conflict zone

Israeli airspace (Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv – TLV)
- Israeli airspace remains closed, with airlines halting services to Tel Aviv.

* Multiple international carriers (Lufthansa Group, British Airways, Wizz Air, Air France and others) have suspended flights to Tel Aviv through early March, even once restrictions begin to ease, due to security risk.

Wider airspace restrictions (indirectly “closing” airports)

Even where terminals are not formally “closed”, airspace restrictions mean many flights cannot operate normally.

Airspace heavily restricted or closed over:
- Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar – broad airspace restrictions in effect.

* This impacts airports in these countries (Tehran, Baghdad, Kuwait City, Manama, etc.) because many international airlines have suspended flights or are rerouting around the region.

Many airlines have canceled or suspended flights to:
- Lebanon (Beirut), Jordan (Amman), Iraq (multiple cities), Iran (Tehran and others), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia routes, and Gulf points like Riyadh, Dammam, Kuwait, Muscat, Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi.

This means that, while some of these airports may not be officially “closed,” connectivity is severely reduced and in some cases effectively halted for international passengers.

Snapshot: main affected airports (today)

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Airport / Airspace</th>
      <th>Country</th>
      <th>Status (approx.)</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Dubai International (DXB)</td>
      <td>UAE</td>
      <td>All flights suspended</td>
      <td>Emirates halted operations to/from Dubai after UAE closed airspace.[web:1][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Dubai World Central / Al Maktoum (DWC)</td>
      <td>UAE</td>
      <td>Flights suspended</td>
      <td>UAE-wide airspace closure has stopped services.[web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Zayed International (AUH)</td>
      <td>UAE</td>
      <td>Flights suspended</td>
      <td>Etihad suspended arrivals/departures amid UAE airspace closure.[web:1][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Hamad International (DOH)</td>
      <td>Qatar</td>
      <td>Airport closed to normal traffic</td>
      <td>Qatar Airways suspended all flights; Qatar airspace closed until at least Monday morning.[web:1][web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Ben Gurion (TLV) / Israeli airspace</td>
      <td>Israel</td>
      <td>Airspace closed</td>
      <td>Flights to/from Tel Aviv widely suspended by numerous airlines.[web:3][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Tehran and other Iranian airports</td>
      <td>Iran</td>
      <td>Severe restrictions / cancellations</td>
      <td>Airspace over Iran restricted; many foreign carriers have suspended Tehran/Iran routes.[web:3][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Airports in Iraq (e.g., Baghdad, Erbil)</td>
      <td>Iraq</td>
      <td>Flight cancellations</td>
      <td>Airspace restrictions; some airlines (e.g., Pegasus, Lufthansa Group, Aegean) cancel flights to Iraq through early March.[web:1][web:3][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Beirut–Rafic Hariri (BEY)</td>
      <td>Lebanon</td>
      <td>Many flights suspended</td>
      <td>Lufthansa Group, Aegean, Turkish Airlines and others have halted Beirut flights.[web:1][web:3][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Queen Alia (AMM)</td>
      <td>Jordan</td>
      <td>Many flights suspended</td>
      <td>Several European and regional airlines have paused flights; Indian regulator lists skies above Jordan as high-risk.[web:1][web:5][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Manama (Bahrain International)</td>
      <td>Bahrain</td>
      <td>Flights suspended / reduced</td>
      <td>Airspace restrictions over Bahrain; multiple airlines have halted services.[web:1][web:3][web:5]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

How reliable is this and what should travelers do?

The situation is fast‑moving and governments/airlines are updating restrictions in hours, not days.

There is a difference between:
- Formal airport closure (no commercial ops), and
- Airspace closure / airline suspensions that effectively make the airport unusable for many travelers.

If you have a ticket to or via the region in the next few days:

Check your airline’s app or website first – many have live travel advisories and automatic rebooking tools.

Monitor official airport and civil aviation authority channels for your departure and arrival cities.
Avoid speculative bookings via Dubai, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, or directly over Iranian/Iraqi airspace until there is clear confirmation that routes have reopened.
If already en route or stranded, contact your airline’s local desk or customer support; many carriers are waiving change fees and offering rerouting where possible.

In forum-style discussions, many travelers are currently sharing live experiences of diversions, overnight airport stays, and last‑minute reroutes via Europe or Africa instead of the usual Gulf hubs, reflecting how central these Middle East airports normally are to global connections.

TL;DR: The main Middle East airports effectively closed or largely shut to routine passenger traffic right now are Dubai (DXB, DWC), Abu Dhabi (AUH), Doha (DOH), and Israeli airspace/Tel Aviv, with major knock‑on flight cancellations and airspace restrictions over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar affecting many other regional airports.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.