Kazakhstan Bans Flights Over Middle East Airspace Due to Security Threats

In response to the escalating situation in the Middle East and a heightened threat level to civil aviation safety, Kazakhstan's Aviation Administration has imposed a complete ban on flights over, within, and near the airspace of Iran, Israel, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon. This directive is effective immediately and will remain in force until further notice.

The order applies to all regular and non-regular passenger, cargo, and technical flights operated by Kazakh air carriers. As a result of this decision, significant disruptions occurred on February 28th. Major airlines were forced to alter their flight paths or cancel services entirely.

Air Astana and FlyArystan rerouted or recalled several flights. For instance, flights from Almaty to Medina (KC263), Dubai (KC897), and Doha (KC653), as well as flights from Astana to Dubai (KC205/KC207), were turned back to their departure airports. Another Almaty-Dubai flight (KC899) was diverted to Delhi. FlyArystan's FS7617 from Aktau to Dubai was redirected to an alternate airport.

All other scheduled flights by these carriers to the Middle East on February 28th were canceled. Similarly, SCAT airline's schedule for February 28th and March 1st shows no flights operating on Middle Eastern routes.

The impact extends beyond Kazakh airlines. Foreign carriers with operations in Kazakhstan—including Qatar Airways, Air Arabia, Flydubai, Jazeera Airways, Air Cairo, and Red Sea—are coordinating with their headquarters and local tour operators to develop contingency plans.

Iranian airlines are also experiencing schedule changes. Qeshm Air has reported delays for its February 28th Middle East-bound flights, while Pars Air has no scheduled flights between February 28th and March 3rd.

Airlines are conducting extensive outreach through SMS alerts, email notifications, push alerts in mobile apps updates on official websites social media posts call centers and information desks

Airlines and airports are actively informing passengers of all schedule changes through multiple channels: SMS alerts email notifications push alerts in mobile apps updates on official websites social media posts call centers and information desks

To assist affected travelers a 24/7 call center has been established at the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan: +7 7172 7798215 Passengers are also advised to contact their airlines directly for specific flight status information