Over 50% of flights across the Middle East have been cancelled in just one week.
New data from Cirium shows the extraordinary scale of disruption affecting aviation across the region.
Since February 28, more than 29,000 departing flights were scheduled across key Middle Eastern airports.
So far, 15,670 flights have been cancelled or unable to operate — a disruption rate of 53.4%.
And the impact has been highly uneven across hubs.
March 6 – Departures from key airports
• Dubai International Airport: 157 flights
• Muscat International Airport: 74 flights
• Zayed International Airport: 30 flights
• Hamad International Airport: 0 flights
• Bahrain International Airport: 0 flights
March 6 – Cancellation rates
Some airports saw extraordinary levels of disruption:
• DXB: 60% cancelled
• DOH: 99.7% cancelled
• AUH: 80.8% cancelled
• BAH: 99% cancelled
• KWI: 80.6% cancelled
• TLV: 90.3% cancelled
Where flights actually operated
An analysis of flights completed on March 5 shows how limited connectivity became.
India was the most served market, with flights to:
BOM (15), DEL (9), COK (8), HYD (6), MAA (5), CCJ (4).
Long-haul connectivity collapsed:
• Only 4 flights reached the United States (JFK, SFO, ORD, IAD).
Europe saw minimal operations:
• LHR (7 flights)
• FRA (3)
• PRG (4)
• 1 flight each to Milan and Rome.
In total, only 281 flights were verified as completed, compared with more than 3,000 typical daily departures from these hubs.

The numbers illustrate how quickly geopolitical events can reshape global aviation networks.
Data: Crium