08.06.2026 01:11
Escalating missile attacks between Iran and Israel have triggered emergency alerts in civil aviation, and due to security risks in the region, AJet and Pegasus Airlines have canceled some Middle Eastern flights, while aircraft already in the air were forced to reroute and return to Turkey. A plane that took off for Beirut instead landed in Adana.
The military tension between Iran and Israel, which reignited in the evening hours and escalated with mutual missile attacks, directly affected civilian flight operations in the region. Due to increased security risks and the danger of conflict in airspaces, Turkish airline companies switched to emergency planning, canceling some Middle Eastern flights, while aircraft in the air were turned back from their routes.
AIRCRAFT IN THE AIR RETURNED TO TURKEY
Passenger planes that were in Middle Eastern skies at the moment the attacks began had to change their routes for security reasons and land at airports in Turkey. The emergency route changes that occurred in this context were as follows:
AJet's Istanbul - Erbil flight returned to Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
AJet's Istanbul - Beirut flight was directed to Çukurova Airport as a safe harbor.
Pegasus Airlines' Istanbul - Erbil flight also decided to return to Sabiha Gökçen Airport due to the risk in Erbil airspace.
CANCELLATION HURDLE FOR TOMORROW'S MIDDLE EASTERN FLIGHTS
As missile activity and security concerns in the region continued, Pegasus Airlines suspended its planned flights on risky routes for tomorrow. According to information obtained from the company, Amman, Erbil, and Baghdad flights were mutually canceled.
It was learned that other international airline companies operating flights to the region also turned to alternative safe routes on civilian flight lines following the missile crisis.