LONDON, March 23 (Reuters) - Middle Eastern airlines,

some of the biggest globally, have been hit hard by the Iran

conflict that has seen attack drones and missile strikes across

the Gulf region, disrupting busy airport hubs and redrawing

traffic routes across the skies.

Major state-backed carriers in the region including

Emirates, Etihad Airways, flydubai, Qatar Airways and

Air Arabia saw flight numbers drop to near zero after

the initial February 28 strikes by U.S. and Israeli forces on

Iran.

Flight numbers from the key United Arab Emirates, which

includes Abu Dhabi and Dubai, have slowly picked up since then,

though remain well below pre-conflict levels, data compiled by

Flightradar24.com shows.

The recovery has not been even.

Flightradar24.com data show Dubai-based Emirates is back at

nearly three-quarters of its pre-conflict capacity, with Air

Arabia and Etihad at around half. Flydubai is at around a third

of its normal level, while Qatar Airways lags at just 20%.

The war on Iran has impacted fares and demand, hit airlines that

do not hedge against oil prices as jet fuel prices soar,

disrupted schedules in Europe and Asia, prompted airlines to

warehouse planes and led to lengthy "flights to nowhere".

(Compiled by Adam Jourdan; Editing by Alexander Smith)