Most of the skies over the Middle East between Israel and Iran were empty of commercial aircraft beginning Friday, when Israel launched airstrikes on Iran.

Iran responded by firing hundreds of drones and ballistic missiles. In response, the airspace of Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, and other countries was closed. Now, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and others are seeking to reopen their airspace and resume some commercial flights.

According to flight tracking sites such as FlightRadar24, flights began departing Jordan on the afternoon of Saturday. Royal Jordanian Flight 437, for example, departed Amman at 1:40 p.m. and was en route to Damascus.

A Flynas flight from Jeddah arrived in Amman, and a Qatar Airways flight from Warsaw flew over Jordan en route to Doha. Most other flights have continued to divert along a southern route over Egypt and Saudi Arabia to the Gulf and beyond, avoiding Jordan, Iraq, and Iran.

In Iran, a few airlines appeared to continue operations. Mahan Air and Pars Air both had flights on Saturday. However, these flights did not announce their destinations after departing from Tehran International Airport. In general, it appeared that a number of flights passing over Syria were no longer tracked once they entered Syrian airspace. The reason for this remains unclear.

An Airbus A340-300 of Iranian airline Mahan Air takes off from Duesseldorf airport DUS, Germany January 16, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/WOLFGANG RATTAY)
An Airbus A340-300 of Iranian airline Mahan Air takes off from Duesseldorf airport DUS, Germany January 16, 2019. (credit: REUTERS/WOLFGANG RATTAY)
Middle East Airlines announced the suspension of all incoming flights to Beirut until further notice, including any flights scheduled from Friday until 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. “Passengers will be notified regarding them in light of developments,” the airline said. Lebanon had closed its airspace until 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Syria's airspace opens Saturday

In Syria, the Syrian General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) announced on Saturday the full reopening of Syrian airspace to civilian aviation, according to Syrian state media. Some air corridors remained closed.

“In a statement published on its Telegram channel, the authority confirmed that Syrian airspace is now safe and available for use in accordance with international safety standards, and that all air corridors, including those connecting Syrian airports to the international corridor network, are open to civilian air traffic,” state news agency SANA reported.

“The authority indicated that the situation in the region will be continuously monitored, and additional measures may be taken when necessary in order to maintain the highest levels of safety and security in Syrian airspace.”

Syrian airlines also announced they would resume operations. “In the first phase, flights will be operated towards Kuwait, Doha, and Sharjah,” SANA noted. Jordan also reopened its airspace.