Iran's attack on Israel caused chaos in air traffic – Reuters

Iran's attack on Israel caused air traffic chaos as international airlines had to cancel flights or reroute flights.

This is reported by Reuters.

International airlines are said to have faced flight disruptions after Iran's missile and drone attacks on Israel further curtailed options for aircraft traveling between Europe and Asia.

In the past two days, at least ten airlines have been forced to cancel or reroute flights, including Lufthansa, Qantas, United Airlines and Air India.

Mark Zee, founder of the Opsgroup, which monitors airspace and airports, said it was the biggest air travel breach since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001.

«Since then we have there was no situation when so many different airspaces were closed so quickly, and it creates chaos», — the expert said, adding that disruptions are likely to continue for several more days.

The latest route problems are a blow to an industry that has already faced multiple restrictions due to conflicts between Israel and Hamas, as well as Russia and Ukraine.

Iran's airspace is used by airlines flying between Europe and Asia, and those carriers will be limited to two viable alternative routes: either via Turkey or Egypt and Saudi Arabia, Zi said.

Israel has closed its airspace on Saturday, April 13th, and then reopened it on the morning of April 14th. Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon also resumed flights over their territories after the closure.

The Middle East's biggest airlines, including Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, said they would resume operations in the region after some flights were canceled or rerouted .

As reported by Ukrinform, the representative of the Israel Defense Forces, Daniel Hagari, said that on the night of April 14, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones at Israel, 99% of which were intercepted by air defense forces.

President of Israel Yitzhak Herzog called the “declaration of war” the air attack by Iran that took place on the night of April 14.

The EU, NATO, Ukraine, the USA and a number of other democratic states condemned Iran's attack on Israel.