Iran attack on Israel sees hundreds of flights cancelled with passengers desperate

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled after Iran launched drone and missile attacks against Israel on Saturday night.

Countries in the region shut their airspace and major airports suspended operations entirely as military jets patrolled the skies above Israel following the attack.

Sunday flights to London by Wizz Air, to New Delhi by Air India, to Madrid by Iberia and to Marseille by Air France have been delayed, according to the airports authority, with stranded passengers taking to social media to beg for help.

“Can a manager at @Wizzair help a customer in Jordan?” tweeted Teddy Truneh on Sunday morning. “Have had zero support from your call centre agents after my flight from Jordan was cancelled due to #Iran #drone strikes. Am looking for help with refund/rebooking/accommodation.”

The tweet was posted alongside a clip of a fiery object falling from the night sky over a cityscape, they added: “Given the context (see video) would appreciate flexibility on your part rather than being told to ‘refer to terms and conditions on the website.”

Iran, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Israel all closed their airspace overnight after Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles from inside its own country into areas such as Jerusalem. Iran claimed the attack was in retaliation following an airstrike last week which killed two Iranian generals in Syria, and left Iran accusing Israel of being behind the attack and promising revenge.

According to the IDF, F-35 Warplanes conducted a 7-hour-long wave of sorties intercepting and downing Iranian UAVs and missiles over Jordan, Syria and Israel last night.

While airspace above the Middle Eastern countries has now reopened, according to airline tracker Flightradar24, thousands of travellers are facing prolonged knock-on delays. Further afield, Australian airline Qantas has cancelled their direct non-stop route from Perth in Western Australia to London as they won't fly over Iran. United Airlines cancelled a flight from Newark airport in New Jersey, USA to Tel Aviv. A flight from Moscow to Tehran was also diverted to Russia's Dagestan. Russia's Aeroflot has postponed flights to Egypt and UAE.

Israel is believed to have reopened its airspace as of 7:30 a.m. (0430 GMT) on Sunday, but officials warned that flight schedules from Tel Aviv were expected to be affected and travellers should check flight times before going to Ben Gurion International Airport.