*

Many MidEast flights remain cancelled, some tentatively

resume

after U.S. strikes Iran

*

GPS spoofing spikes in Gulf region

*

Israel ramps up flights for stranded travellers

(Writes through, adds TV, GPS spoofing, Air Canada ( ACDVF )

cancellations, British Airways and Singapore Airlines

resumptions)

By Lisa Barrington and Jack Queen

June 23 (Reuters) - Commercial airlines around the world

on Monday were weighing how long to suspend Middle East flights

as a conflict which has already cut off major flight routes

entered a new phase after the U.S. attacked key Iranian nuclear

sites and Tehran vowed to defend itself.

The usually busy airspace stretching from Iran and Iraq to

the Mediterranean has been largely empty of commercial air

traffic for 10 days since Israel began strikes on Iran on June

13, as airlines divert, cancel and delay flights through the

region due to airspace closures and safety concerns.

New cancellations of some flights by international carriers

in recent days to usually resilient aviation hubs like Dubai,

the world's busiest international airport, and Qatar's Doha,

show how aviation industry concerns about the region have

escalated.

However, some international airlines were resuming services

on Monday.

Leading Asian carrier Singapore Airlines, which

described the situation as "fluid", was set to resume flying to

Dubai on Monday after cancelling its Sunday flight from

Singapore.

Similarly, Flightradar24 departure boards show British

Airways, owned by IAG, was set to resume Dubai and Doha

flights on Monday after cancelling routes to and from those

airports on Sunday.

Air France KLM cancelled flights to and from Dubai

and Riyadh on Sunday and Monday.

With Russian and Ukrainian airspace also closed to most

airlines due to years of war, the Middle East had become a more

important route for flights between Europe and Asia. Amid

missile and air strikes during the past 10 days, airlines have

routed north via the Caspian Sea or south via Egypt and Saudi

Arabia.

Added to increased fuel and crew costs from these long

detours and cancellations, carriers also face a potential hike

in jet fuel costs as oil prices rise following the U.S. attacks.

AIRSPACE RISKS

Proliferating conflict zones are an increasing operational

burden on airlines, as aerial attacks raise worries about

accidental or deliberate shoot-downs of commercial air traffic.

Location spoofing and GPS interference around political

hotspots, where ground-based GPS systems broadcast incorrect

positions which can send commercial airliners off course, are

also a growing issue for commercial aviation.

Flightradar24 told Reuters it had seen a "dramatic increase"

in jamming and spoofing in recent days over the Persian Gulf.

SkAI, a Swiss company that runs a GPS disruption map, late on

Sunday said it had observed more than 150 aircraft spoofed in 24

hours there.

Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based

organisation that shares flight risk information, noted on

Sunday that U.S. attacks on Iran's nuclear sites could heighten

the threat to American operators in the region.

This could raise additional airspace risks in Gulf states

like Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United

Arab Emirates, it said.

In the days before the U.S. strikes, American Airlines ( AAL )

suspended flights to Qatar, and United Airlines

and Air Canada ( ACDVF ) did the same with flights to Dubai. They

have yet to resume.

While international airlines are shying away from the

region, local carriers in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq are

tentatively resuming some flights after widespread

cancellations.

Israel is ramping up flights to help people return home, and

leave. The country's Airports Authority says that so-called

rescue flights to the country would expand on Monday with 24 a

day, although each flight would be limited to 50 passengers.

From Monday, Israeli airlines will start to operate outbound

flights from Israel, the authority said.

Israeli airline El Al on Sunday said it had received

applications to leave the country from about 25,000 people in

about a day.