Asia-to-Europe airfreight could face extreme bottlenecks and price hikes due to the rising tension in the Middle East, and sea-air transshipments from Dubai will also be affected.
On Saturday, Iran launched around 300 missiles and drones at Israel, most of which were shot down by Israel’s U.S.-backed missile defence system and its allies.
Safety concerns led many major carriers to cancel or reroute flights. Lufthansa Cargo told The Loadstar it would “fly around Iranian airspace” until April 19, at least.
But with Russian airspace also closed since 2022, due to its invasion of Ukraine, carriers rely on Iranian airspace as a vital crossing for the in-demand Asia to Europe trade, creating concern that the airspace closure would bottleneck Asia-Europe airfreight routes further.
Read more in an article from The Loadstar.