This is how the closure of airspace in Iran affects flights departing from Spain: journeys up to two hours longer and price increases on these routes.

The closure of Iran 's airspace, along with that of other territories such as Iraq and Israel, following the recent escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, is having a significant impact on air traffic and flights departing from Spain to various destinations.

The United States' attack on Iran last weekend, June 22, has heightened tensions between these territories amid the ongoing war between Israel and Palestine, creating a new scenario of heightened tension and uncertainty in the conflict.

Returning to how this affects airspace, in recent hours airlines have had to divert many of their usual routes , which normally crossed Iranian, Iraqi, Jordanian, or Israeli airspace, to alternative corridors over Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Turkey.

Regarding Spain, our country's Embassy in Iran stated the following through its X account: "We remind you that the airspace of the Islamic Republic of Iran remains closed to commercial flights." Therefore, there are no direct flights between Spain and Iran, and commercial flights departing from Spain do not fly over Iranian airspace, diverting their trajectories to also avoid Iraq, Israel, or Jordan.

Before the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East and the closure of Iranian airspace, commercial flights departing from Spain and passing through Iran had the following main destinations:

These routes, especially those operated by Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad, or Turkish Airlines in connection , used to take the shortest and most efficient corridor between Europe and Asia, which passes through southern Turkey, northern Iraq and Iranian airspace, before entering the Persian Gulf or continuing on to South and East Asia, as explained by CNN.

As we indicated, following the escalation of the conflict, multiple routes have been diverted to avoid Iranian airspace, increasing flight times and operating costs. Thus, any route from Spain to the countries listed above that are among those diverted due to the closure of Iran's airspace may experience delays and longer journey times due to the greater distance traveled. This may also lead to higher flight prices due to increased fuel costs and air time.

A concrete example of how the closure of Iran's airspace is affecting Spain is that Iberia has decided to suspend flights from Madrid to Doha on Sunday, June 22, and this Monday, June 23 , according to Reuters.

CNN specifies that air traffic is currently concentrating in two narrow corridors, specifically one south of the conflict zones, which could mean more work for air traffic controllers, adjusting flight altitude and takeoff times , and also causing price fluctuations, "since privileged takeoff and landing slots at airports represent an even higher cost for airlines ."

Furthermore, they cite as an example that short-haul flights between Central Asia and destinations such as Dubai or Doha could have gone from two hours of flight time to between three or four hours , due to not being able to cross Iranian airspace, something that also occurs with flights from Spain to such destinations.