Paris: Several European airlines have suspended or adjusted flights to destinations in the Middle East, citing security concerns over rising tensions between the US and Iran and fears of wider disruption across the Persian Gulf. Air France announced that it had ‘temporarily’ suspended services to Dubai, emphasizing that the safety of passengers and crew remains its ‘absolute imperative.’

According to Anadolu Agency, Air France canceled two Paris-Dubai flights on Friday, leading to the cancellation of two return flights from Dubai to Paris scheduled for Saturday. The airline mentioned that further details on its schedule would be announced later. Dutch flag carrier KLM also halted flights to Dubai, Riyadh, and Dammam in Saudi Arabia, as well as Tel Aviv until further notice, avoiding airspace over several Gulf countries, along with Iran, Iraq, and Israel, as a precautionary measure.

Luxembourg’s Luxair canceled several flights to Dubai, with a flight scheduled for Saturday morning postponed by 24 hours due to concerns over the situation in the Middle East, as reported by RTL News. Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG suspended flights to Tehran until March 28, while services to Tel Aviv and Jordan’s capital Amman would operate only during daytime hours until the end of the month.

Italian ITA Airways announced Saturday that it is suspending overnight flights to Israel until Tuesday due to escalating security concerns in the Middle East, according to Israeli news portal Ynet. British Airways had earlier temporarily halted flights to Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

The disruptions followed remarks by US President Donald Trump, who stated that American naval assets were being deployed to the Middle East, raising concerns of possible military action against Iran over a government crackdown on public protests. Trump said a US naval ‘armada’ was heading toward the Gulf, while the Pentagon confirmed that the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln had been redirected from the South China Sea to the region.