Iran shuts airspace briefly amid military escalation; reopens after two hours

Iran temporarily shut its airspace early on Thursday amid tensions over Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests, forcing airlines to reroute flights and causing delays on key international routes linking India with West Asia and Europe, government officials told HT.

The Tehran Flight Information Region (FIR) was closed to all flights around 3:45am IST. Follow LIVE updates on Iran protest here

“During the closure, no overflights were permitted. Only international civil flights arriving into or departing from Iran with prior permission from the Iran Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) were allowed,” an official in the know of the development said.

“Delhi ACC (Area Control Centre) was informed of the closure by Lahore ACC (OPLA), which cited military escalation as the reason,” he added.

“The information was received at 3:12 IST. At that time, no NOTAM (Notice to Air Mission) had yet been issued confirming the airspace shutdown,” a second official close to the development said.

The sudden closure had immediate operational implications for flights using air traffic service route G452, a critical airway for aircraft flying from north and west India towards Iran, the Gulf, Turkey and onward to Europe.

The route is used by long haul international services from Indian metros as it offers a shorter and more fuel-efficient track compared to alternative detours, officials said.

“Preliminary information came in from Lahore ACC stating that aircraft operating on G452 were rerouted through Pakistan’s airspace to avoid Iranian airspace,” a ministry official said.

“Around 3:45 IST, an aircraft, IRM086 of Mahan Air, operating from China to Tehran, was already on the route and was handed over to Lahore ATC. Other flights planned on the route were also required to divert,” he added.

For Delhi ACC, the disruption meant quick coordination with Lahore ACC and other neighbouring FIRs, managing congestion on alternative routes and increased last minute route changes instead of planned traffic flows.

Iran later reopened its airspace, with a NOTAM confirming that normal flight operations in the Tehran FIR resumed at 7:03am.

Meanwhile, Air India acknowledged the impact of the airspace closure in a post on X at 5:30am.

“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. Some Air India flights where currently rerouting is not possible are being cancelled”, the airline said.

“Air India regrets the inconvenience caused to passengers due to this unforeseen disruption. Safety of our passengers and crew remains top priority,” the post added.