War upends Europe-Asia flights

Iran war, other conflicts complicate commercial aviation routes between the two continents

- YAN ZHUANG

An Emirates Boeing 777 aircraft prepares for landing at Dubai International Airport after a 'drone-related incident' sparked a fuel tank fire on Monday.

Fifty miles. That's approximately the narrowest point of a corridor over Azerbaijan that many commercial airplanes have been flying through to get from Europe to Asia since early March, when the country closed some of its airspace after drone strikes that the Azerbaijani authorities said had been launched from Iranian territory.

The corridor — which was created when the recent war in the Middle East started and a swath of airspace over the region closed — was originally only 100 miles wide at its narrowest point. That airspace had already been constrained on its northern side, near the border with Russia, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The dwindling airspace for flights between Europe and Asia is a vivid example of how conflict complicates aviation logistics. Nearly three weeks into the latest war, a route through Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey is one of only two routes available for a majority of long-haul flights between Europe and Asia. The other route passes through Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

These are the latest adjustments airlines have had to make in recent years to account for global conflicts. Each rerouting can make flights longer and raise fuel costs. Small increases can quickly add up, and the adjustments may eventually strain the viability of some routes.