Dutch airlines cancel Middle East flights after U.S., Israeli strikes on Iran

Flights from Dutch airports to the Middle East were disrupted on Saturday as airlines canceled and rerouted services following Israeli and U.S. military strikes on Iran, prompting airspace closures and heightened safety concerns.

At Schiphol Airport, departures to Israel and some Gulf destinations were canceled, while flights to places such as Qatar and Moscow continued as scheduled. Some Emirates flights to Europe were delayed, and two flights to Dubai remained on schedule. KLM brought forward the suspension of its Amsterdam–Tel Aviv service and canceled the flight scheduled for Saturday, having initially planned to halt service from Sunday.

Air France also canceled flights to and from Tel Aviv and Beirut. Lufthansa paused operations to Tel Aviv, Beirut, Oman, and Dubai and announced it would avoid Israeli, Lebanese, Jordanian, Iraqi, and Iranian airspace until at least March 7. Wizz Air halted flights to and from Israel, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman, and Japan Airlines canceled flights between Tokyo Haneda and Doha. Other carriers adjusted routes or avoided certain airspaces as the situation evolved.

The disruptions also drew responses from diplomatic quarters in the Netherlands. The Iranian embassy in The Hague condemned the strikes, accusing Israel and the U.S. of pursuing regional control rather than addressing weapons of mass destruction. “This is not about weapons of mass destruction but about American-Israeli control over the region,” the embassy said on social media platform X.

Dutch commentators have weighed in as well. Efshin Ellian, a Dutch jurist, philosopher, and poet, urged the Netherlands to “not stand on the wrong side of history,” calling the strikes a “humanitarian intervention” intended to weaken Iran’s oppressive institutions and support opposition forces.