War launched by US and Israel on Iran has quickly escalated prompting anxiety and concern in whole region
Flights from Bangladesh to several Middle Eastern destinations have remained suspended since yesterday afternoon as some countries in the region temporarily closed their airspace due to US and Israel’s strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation.
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has suspended all of its Middle East-bound flights due to Iran’s ongoing strikes targeting US bases in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain, according to Bosra Islam, general manager (public relations) of the national carrier.
The region has become more important for global aviation since the Russia-Ukraine war forced airlines to avoid both countries' airspace.
Flight maps showed skies over Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel and Bahrain virtually empty, while airlines across Europe and the Middle East announced sweeping cancellations.
Gulf airlines, like Emirates and Qatar Airways, are also among the world's biggest cargo operators.
Dubai's international airport, which handles more than 1,000 flights a day, sustained damage during an overnight Iranian retaliatory attack on sites across the Arab Gulf states, while Abu Dhabi and Kuwait's international airports were also hit.
Major regional gateways including Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi were closed as countries across the Middle East shut their airspace following the strikes and Iran’s retaliation.
Dubai and neighbouring Doha sit at the crossroads of east‑west air travel, funnelling long‑haul traffic between Europe and Asia through a tightly scheduled network of connecting flights.
Any prolonged shutdown of its airports ripples far beyond the region, forcing airlines worldwide to reroute or cancel services.
Iran struck the world-famous Fairmont hotel in Dubai, setting the hotel alight, as the war launched by the US and Israel on Iran quickly spread to the rest of the Middle East on Saturday.
Residents watched in shock as an Iranian missile hit the five-star hotel in Dubai’s luxurious Palm Jumeirah area. Social media videos showed fires breaking out near the entrance of the hotel, which led to four people being injured.
Later Dubai authorities said debris from an intercepted drone caused a fire at the city’s famous luxury hotel the Burj Al Arab and Dubai’s international airport. Abu Dhabi Airports said in a post on X that an incident at Zayed international airport in the UAE’s capital resulted in one fatality and seven injuries. It later deleted the post.
“Civil Defence teams responded immediately and brought the incident under control. No injuries have been reported,” the Dubai media office wrote on its X account.
An Iranian flag flutters, as Israel and the US launched strikes on Iran, in Tehran, Iran, February 28, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS (Daily Star, Dhaka)
Dubai Airports suspended all flights at Dubai International and at Al Maktoum International until further notice, urging passengers not to travel.
Major Middle Eastern airports, including Dubai, the world’s busiest international travel hub, were shut on Saturday
UK-based aviation analyst John Strickland says: "It hits at so many levels. There is the immediate issue of what happens today and the ricochet effect of how long this persists".
Airlines cancelled on Saturday about half of their flights to Qatar and Israel and about 28% of their flights to Kuwait, after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, according to preliminary Cirium data.
About 24% of flights to the Middle East were cancelled.
Conflict zones add to operational risks, raising fears of accidental shoot‑downs and lengthening routes, which increases fuel costs.
The US and Israel launched their most ambitious attack on Iran in decades killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and prompting Iran to retaliate with missile and drone attacks.
PASSENGERS STRANDED ACROSS EUROPE
Students travelling from Paris to Dubai said their college trip was abandoned. "We still have some students that went there earlier and they're stuck in Dubai and we don't know when they’ll be able to come back," said Benjamin Gnatek.
At Charles de Gaulle airport, Thai-bound traveller Roman Simon said his onward flight via Doha was cancelled. "Now, we’re trying to find a solution to still make our trip to Thailand," he told Reuters.
At Doha’s Hamad International Airport, gates were nearly empty as stranded passengers queued to make hotel arrangements, a Reuters witness said.
As countries in the region closed their airspace, aircraft were forced to divert around Larnaca, Jeddah, Cairo and Riyadh. Flightradar24 briefly went down due to surging demand.
The European Union's aviation regulator EASA on Saturday recommended its airlines stay out of the airspace affected by the ongoing military intervention.
The risk of a broader Middle East conflict raised !!
One Dubai resident said that “everyone is very scared” as the situation continued to deteriorate.
“There is footage of missile interceptions all over the city,” they said. “I am packing a suitcase just in case … not that we can leave, because airspace is closed. It is the thing we have all been frightened about happening, and now it has.”
In Bahrain, an Iranian drone flew into a high-rise building in what looked like a targeted attack, exploding and engulfing the skyscraper in flames. Earlier, the country’s national security agency was also struck by an Iranian missile.
Social media footage also appeared to show a missile hitting the huge US naval base in Bahrain. In Kuwait, a drone crashed into the country’s main airport, wounding several employees and damaging the facility, says 'The Guardian'.
As Iran responded to US and Israeli strikes by bombing the Gulf and Israel, its proxies joined the fray. Bases belonging to the Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq were struck by either the US or Israel, killing at least two members of the armed Iraqi group Kataib Hezbollah.
Footage on the streets of Isfahan in central Iran show people cheering and honking their car horns in jubilation. Another video showed people gathering around a bonfire as fireworks lit the night sky. Several families of the killed protesters also celebrated in the streets and at homes, says BBC.
A report by Reuters news agency says there have also been celebrations in Karaj, a city near Tehran. In Tehran, images from news agencies show people on the streets mourning, some holding photos of Khamenei.
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