Iran chaos narrows air travel corridor

Thousands of passenger jets are having to navigate a sliver of airspace
between Russia and Iran due to ongoing wars, triggering congestion,
longer travel times, greater fuel usage and higher air fares

AIR TRAVEL FLYING
EAST FROM EUROPE

Do not fly
Danger
Caution

Direct route (closed)
Current route

TÜRKIYE
SAUDI
ARABIA
UAE
QATAR
KUWAIT
MOLDOVA
ISRAEL
LEBANON
CYPRUS
YEMEN
OMAN
IRAQ
SYRIA
JORDAN
AFGHANISTAN
PAKISTAN
EGYPT
LIBYA
SUDAN
IRAN
RUSSIA
GEORGIA
AZERBAIJAN
ARMENIA
UKRAINE

Airspace
closed since
Feb 24, 2022

Airspace
closed since
Feb 28, 2026

500km
300 miles

INDIA
EUROPE
JAPAN

To India
To Far East/Australia

Routes flying southeast also have
to deviate thousands of miles off
their ideal direct flight paths

Sources: Safe Airspace, Flightradar24
© GRAPHIC NEWS