- Delhi-bound IndiGo flight narrowly avoided Iranian airspace before Tehran closed it suddenly
- Iran shut its airspace for over four hours amid unrest, disrupting east-west international flights
- Major Indian airlines rerouted or canceled flights due to the sudden Iranian airspace closure
A Delhi-bound IndiGo flight narrowly escaped the Iranian airspace before Tehran suddenly shut its airspace amid the spiralling unrest in the country. The sudden closure of the skies threw international flight operations into disarray, with major Indian airlines rerouting or cancelling some of their international flights.
Flight-tracking data showed IndiGo flight 6E1808, which departed Tbilisi in Georgia, passed over Iran at about 2.35 am on Thursday, just minutes before the closure started at around 3 am. The aircraft is believed to be the last non-Iran-registered passenger aircraft in Iranian airspace before Tehran's aviation authorities issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), suddenly halting the movement of most flights on Thursday, except a limited number of approved international ones.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key east-west flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired, and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 am.
International Flight Operation Disrupted
Iran is facing widespread protests against its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid growing tensions with the US. The country previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities, though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.
"Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace," said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. "The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defence, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic."
Impact On Indian Airlines
Major Indian airlines Air India, IndiGo, and SpiceJet on Thursday informed of rerouting some of their international flights as Iran shut down its airspace. Air India said it had to cancel its early morning flights, such as Delhi-New York JFK (AI 101), Delhi-Newark (AI 105), and Mumbai-JFK (AI 119). The return flights were also cancelled.
IndiGo's Baku-Delhi flight, slated for early morning, had to return to the Azerbaijan capital within an hour, as it was to overfly Iran after crossing the Caspian Sea.
"Due to the emerging situation in Iran, the subsequent closure of its airspace, and in view of the safety of our passengers, Air India flights overflying the region are now using an alternative routing, which may lead to delays," Air India shared in a post on the social media platform X.
The company noted that it is cancelling flights "where currently rerouting is not possible".
"Due to the sudden airspace closure by Iran, some of our international flights are impacted. Our teams are working diligently to assess the situation and support affected customers by offering the best possible alternatives," added IndiGo.
SpiceJet also shared a similar travel update and attributed the impact on flights to airspace closure in Iran.
The airlines noted that "safety of passengers and crew remains top priority" and requested passengers to check the status of their flights on the company's website.
Other international airlines, such as Lufthansa, have also been impacted, and their flights are also being cancelled.
"Due to the current situation in the Middle East, the Lufthansa Group has decided, after careful evaluation, to operate flights to and from Tel Aviv and Amman as day flights from Thursday, January 15, up to and including Monday, January 19, 2026," according to a Lufthansa spokesperson.
"In some cases, there may also be flight cancellations. In addition, Iranian and Iraqi airspace will be circumnavigated by all Lufthansa Group airlines until further notice," it added.
