The closure of an entire country’s airspace meant that commercial airline travel had grinded to a halt. This occurred due to the fact that authorities decided they had to quickly and completely cease all commercial airlines from operating aircraft safely; thus stopping airline service entirely, and limiting commercial aircraft flying from and into the airport.
Initially, this decision was made as a result of escalated tension in the region leading to missile and drone attacks associated with Iran’s retaliatory military response to America, and attacks on American interests throughout the Middle East, including the UAE.
Closing an entire nation’s airspace creates numerous additional delays and inconveniences to the travelling public, delayed cargo and affects thousands of people travelling through that nation via an airport terminal or through that nation.
In this case, however, the safety of the aircraft, crew and those on the ground had taken precedence as explained by authorities prior to making this decision.
One of the areas affected from the attack was the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone, where a report of a drone strike caused a fire to happen in that area. Emergency services were sent to the site and took action to control the situation so no further damage would occur.
While this attack was severe, and even at that time officials confirmed that there were no casualties from this.
The location that was attacked is approximately 150 km east of Dubai (which is one of the largest global transport and energy hubs), increasing concern when there are any issues with the transportation and energy infrastructure in such an interrelated region.
The escalation we currently experience started in late February 2020 when the United States and Israel jointly attacked targets located within Iran. These joint attacks created many casualties and set off a series of events that led to continued missile and drone launches from Iran.
Iran has launched multiple waves of missiles and drones against various countries, including but not limited to; Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Israel.
The United States has also suffered casualties among its members during this conflict.
Due to its strategic partnerships and geographic position, the United States is an important location in this region and as such is more susceptible to being impacted by the ongoing conflicts. For this reason, the closure of air spaces even though it causes inconvenience is something that must happen.
Officials referred to this as a temporary shutdown, indicating that once it is deemed safe to do so, operations will return to normal. However, a temporary shutdown may have an impact on international air traffic.
One minute, everything is operating normally; the next minute, there are no longer any flight paths on a flight map.
Although air traffic over the UAE may resume operations within a reasonable time, all of these areas will remain connected through the ongoing situation involving aviation operations, safe operating conditions, and world politics.
