Nearly 6 million air travellers affected due to Middle East disruptions

Vinod R Nair

Published: 12:08 PM, Mar 14, 2026

Muscat: Nearly six million passengers have been impacted by flying into and out of the Middle East due to flight cancellations since the start of the Iran war on February 28 until March 13.

According to Cirium Aviation Analytics Company, based on an average load factor of 80% (defined as the number of paying passengers divided by the number of seat-miles flown), airlines reported an average number of 242 seats per flight, noting that some aircraft seat many more passengers (A380s and B777s).

These include cancellations from the Middle East to destinations not in the Middle East, and vice versa, and exclude intra-Middle East flights during the period.

Accordingly, from February 28, 2026, to March 13 inclusive, there were more than 98,000 flights scheduled in and out of the Middle East, with more than 52,000 flights canceled.

It may be noted, as per IATA, International demand rose 5.9 percent compared to January 2025. Capacity was up 5.8 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 82.5 percent (+0.1 ppt compared to January 2025.

In January this year, the Middle Eastern carriers saw a 7.2 percent year-on-year increase in demand. Capacity increased 7.8 percent year-on-year, and the load factor was 83.2 percent (-0.4 ppt compared to January 2025).

Willie Walsh, IATA Director-General, said, “We all hope for an early peaceful resolution to the current hostilities. In the meantime, states must respect their obligation to keep civilians and civil aviation free from harm.”

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