Due to the changing circumstances in the region, airlines have ceased overflying Iranian and Iraqi airspace, resulting in longer flights between India and the west.
Air India was forced to cancel Thursday morning's Delhi–New York JFK (AI 101), Delhi-Newark (AI 105), and Mumbai–JFK (AI 119) flights due to the abrupt closing of Iranian airspace for a while on Wednesday and Thursday night. As a result, the return flights were also canceled.
IndiGo's early Thursday morning flight from Baku to Delhi, which was scheduled to fly over Iran after crossing the Caspian Sea, returned to the capital of Azerbaijan in less than an hour.
When rerouting is not an option, Air India will cancel certain flights. Avoiding Iran and Iraq will prevent Indian carriers from flying all the way from Iraq to Pakistan.
As a result, IndiGo may decide to cancel its flights to Almaty, Tashkent, and Baku in the near future because doing so would require traveling a very long distance and stopping somewhere in Jordan.
On Wednesday and Thursday night, Iranian airspace was abruptly shut down. "Tehran flight information region (FIR) closed to all flights except international civil arrivals and departures to and from Tehran FIR with prior permission from Iran Civil Aviation Authority," stated a notice to airmen (NOTAM) released on Thursday at 22:15 (UTC or GMT).
Another NOTAM was then released, stating that "Tehran FIR resumed normal operations," but several airlines are avoiding the airspace due to safety concerns.
"Due to the emerging situation in Iran, the subsequent closure of its airspace, and in view of our passengers' safety, Air India flights overflying the region are now using an alternative routing, which may lead to delays," the airline stated on X Thursday morning.
Some Air India flights are being canceled since rerouting is now not an option. Before traveling to the airport, we ask travelers to check the status of their flights on our website.
Air India apologizes for any inconvenience this unplanned disruption has caused its customers. Our crew's and passengers' safety is still our top priority.
"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," a representative for Lufthansa stated.
This implies that staff don't spend the night on the job site and instead fly back right away. Flight cancellations are another possibility. Additionally, until further notice, all Lufthansa Group planes will avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace.
"The Lufthansa Group is still keeping a careful eye on the situation and will continue to evaluate it over the next few days. Passengers that are impacted will be proactively notified and immediately rebooked.
As an alternative, visitors can reschedule for a different trip date. "Our first priority is always the safety of our guests and crew," the representative stated.
Operators are advised that the security situation in Iran's main urban centers remains fluid and subject to rapid change amid the ongoing violence, according to a January 11 Osprey Flight Solutions analyst update titled "Iran: Main urban centers: Further violent clashes near certain in the short term amid deteriorating security situation."
Although there hasn't been much of an impact on airport operations, there could be short term disruptions, such as airport employees participating in protests, which could influence facility staffing levels. In the short term, there may also be fuel shortages at airports and direct protests at or near facilities.
