*

Iran, Iraq and Jordan close airspace and Israel shuts

airport

after attacks

*

Expanding conflict zones burdening airline operations and

profitability

*

Six commercial planes unintentionally shot down since 2001

-

Osprey Flight Solutions

*

Israel's El Al and Israir evacuate planes from Tel Aviv

(Adds Lufthansa, El Al comments, Israir evacuating planes from

Tel Aviv)

By Lisa Barrington

SEOUL, June 13 (Reuters) - Airlines cleared out of the

airspace over Israel, Iran, Iraq and Jordan on Friday after

Israel launched attacks on targets in Iran, Flightradar24 data

showed, with carriers scrambling to divert and cancel flights to

keep passengers and crew safe.

Proliferating conflict zones around the world are becoming

an increasing burden on airline operations and profitability,

and more of a safety concern.

Six commercial aircraft have been shot down unintentionally

and three nearly missed since 2001, according to aviation risk

consultancy Osprey Flight Solutions.

Israel on Friday said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities,

ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start

of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent

Tehran from building an atomic weapon.

Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further

notice, and Israel's air defence units stood at high alert for

possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Israeli flag carrier El Al Airlines said it had

suspended flights to and from Israel and was moving some of its

planes out of the country.

Israeli carrier Israir said it was evacuating its planes

from Tel Aviv's airport, which it said was expected to remain

closed through the weekend.

Many global airlines had already halted flights to and from

Tel Aviv after a missile fired by Yemen's Houthi rebels towards

Israel on May 4 landed near the airport.

Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice,

according to state media and notices to pilots.

As reports of strikes on Iran emerged, a number of

commercial flights by airlines including Dubai's Emirates,

Lufthansa and Air India were flying over Iran.

Air India, which overflies Iran for its Europe and North

American flights, said several flights were being diverted or

returned to their origin, including ones from New York,

Vancouver, Chicago and London.

Lufthansa said its flights to Tehran have been suspended

until further notice, and it would avoid Iranian, Iraqi and

Israeli airspace for the time being.

Emirates, which cancelled flights to and from Iraq, Jordan,

Lebanon, and Iran after Israel's attack, did not immediately

respond to a request for comment.

Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all

traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.

Eastern Iraq near the border with Iran contains one of the

world's busiest air corridors, with dozens of flights crossing

between Europe and the Gulf, many on routes from Asia to Europe,

at any one moment.

Jordan, which sits between Israel and Iraq, closed its

airspace several hours after the Israeli campaign began.

FLIGHT DIVERSIONS

"Traffic is now diverting either south via Egypt and Saudi

Arabia, or north via Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan,"

according to Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a

membership-based organisation that shares flight risk

information.

Flights from six airlines including Etihad Airways and

Turkish Airlines were diverted to Baku, Azerbaijan according to

its Heydar Aliyev International Airport.

An Emirates flight from Manchester to Dubai was diverted to

Istanbul and a flydubai flight from Belgrade diverted to

Yerevan, Armenia.

Budget carrier flydubai said it had suspended flights to

Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Iran and Israel and a number of other

flights had been cancelled, rerouted or returned to their

departure airports.

Qatar Airways cancelled its two scheduled flights to

Damascus on Friday, Flightradar24 data shows.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East since

October 2023 led to commercial aviation sharing the skies with

short-notice barrages of drones and missiles across major flight

paths - some of which were reportedly close enough to be seen by

pilots and passengers.

Airspace in the Middle East last year was crossed daily by

1,400 flights to and from Europe, Eurocontrol data show.

Last year, planes were shot down by weaponry in Kazakhstan

and in Sudan. These incidents followed the high-profile downing

of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014

and of Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 en route from

Tehran in 2020.