One in three New Zealanders flying to Europe pass through the Middle East — so what happens now the airspace is closed?

The sky over Georgia is crowded

The skies over Georgia have become one of the busiest transit routes between Europe and Asia after the closure of airspace over a number of Middle Eastern countries due to military escalation in the region.

One in three New Zealanders flying to Europe pass through the Middle East — so what happens now the airspace is closed?

The Middle East is one of New Zealand’s key connection hubs to Europe.

Greece Launches Middle East Repatriation Operation, 162 Citizens Evacuated

Greece brings home 162 citizens and family members in the first phase of its Middle East repatriation operations. Credit: A.Savin / CC BY-SA 3.0 Greece has completed the first phase of a coordinated repatriation operation to bring home citizens stranded in the Middle East, amid rising military tensions and regional instability. According to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials carried out the first repatriation missions on March 3 an…

Middle East airspace disruptions persist amid regional war

Several MENA countries have kept their airspace closed, as the US and Israeli strikes on Iran intensify across the Middle East, triggering widespread flight disruptions across the region. Open-source flight-tracking data reveal a patchy recovery across the Middle East as of 4 March, despite some evacuations from the region. Some flights have resumed in the UAE and Jordanian hubs, but Iranian, Iraqi, Syrian, Bahraini, and Kuwaiti airspaces remain…