Flightradar: Iran has partially reopened its airspace.

Flightradar: Iran has partially reopened its airspace.

Iran has partially reopened its airspace, following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Iran. The reopening, effective June 24, 2025, allows international flights with prior approval from the Iranian Civil Aviation Authority. However, the Iranian airspace remains restricted, and only flights with explicit authorization are permitted.

The reopening has significant implications for regional airlines. El Al Israel Airlines, the Israeli flag carrier, plans to resume additional routes and remove a previously imposed cap of 50 passengers per flight. The airline will initially offer seats to preregistered passengers, prioritizing those whose flights were canceled earlier. Sales to the general public are planned to resume after July 22, 2025 [1].

Israir has canceled all scheduled flights until July 7 and will operate rescue flights until then. Arkia Israeli Airlines has suspended all scheduled flights until at least the end of June. airHaifa resumed ticket sales for its Haifa-Larnaca route on June 25 and plans to resume a normal flight schedule on July 1 [1].

Iraqi Airways started gradually resuming its scheduled operations on June 25. Meanwhile, scheduled flight services in, to, and from Iran remain suspended [1].

The closure of Iranian and Iraqi airspace since June 13 has led to a significant increase in overflights of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. Overflights of Saudi Arabia have doubled, rising from an average of 700 flights per day to 1,400 flights per day [2].

The two largest airlines in the Middle East, Qatar Airways and Emirates, have been most affected. Qatar Airways, which usually passes over Iraq for flights to Europe and North America, and Emirates, which maintains an equal distribution between Iraq and Iran, have had to reroute their flights. Flydubai, which lost access to Iranian airspace, has increased flight times by routing further east through Pakistan and Afghanistan to reach destinations north of Dubai [2].

The conflict between Iran and Israel, and the potential closure of additional air routes, could have profound effects on commercial aviation. The great circle route between Europe and Asia, which usually passes through Ukraine or Russia, is currently unavailable, squeezing traffic into limited airspace over the Black Sea and Saudi Arabia [2].

The reopening of Iranian airspace, while a positive development, comes with risks. The primary risk is misidentification by Iranian air defense systems, as seen in the shoot-down of Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 in 2020 [3]. There is also a potential for Iranian surface-to-surface missile fire from western Iran, targeting terrorist positions in Iraq [3].

The partial reopening of Iranian airspace is a step towards normalizing regional aviation, but it remains to be seen how the situation will evolve and what further impacts it may have on the aviation industry.

References:
[1] https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/155300-airspace-reopens-after-israeli-iranian-ceasefire
[2] https://www.flightradar24.com/blog/aviation-news/saudi-overflights-double-with-iran-iraq-airspace-closure/
[3] https://safeairspace.net/iran/