Trump attack on Iran could halt flights to US, Etihad warns

Christopher Jasper

Tue, 24 February 2026 at 10:37 pm GMT+9 2 min read

Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad’s chief executive, said their flights to the US follow the shortest possible route – which takes directly over Iran - Amr Alfiky/Reuters

A US attack on Iran could force airlines in the Gulf to abandon flights to the US, the boss of Etihad has warned.

Antonoaldo Neves, the airline’s chief executive, said Etihad’s flights to the US follow the shortest possible route – which takes them north, directly over Iran.

Diversions might not be viable because they could consume so much fuel that even Etihad’s longest-range planes would be unable to reach the US without stopping.

Mr Neves said: “The key flights that would get elongated are the US flights. It’s more critical for the US than for Europe and south-east Asia, because we would normally go over Iran.

“Adding two to three hours to Europe is OK but if you add two to three hours to the US you need to do a fuel stop. You don’t have more range in the plane.”

Mr Neves said how much Etihad would be affected would depend on how prolonged any attack launched by Donald Trump on Tehran was, and how much of the surrounding airspace was shut to flights.

The US president is thought to be weighing options ranging from a limited strike on nuclear and missile facilities to a far broader campaign that could seek to destabilise or even topple Iran’s leadership.

The closure of the most popular route for carriers flying in and out of the Middle East and beyond over Iraq would cause the greatest upheaval, Mr Neves said.

The involvement of Israel in a potential conflict alongside the US would also potentially close off a swathe of airspace stretching from Cairo to central Asia – with routings further complicated by the long-term closure of the skies over Russia to many airlines.

Mr Neves said Etihad had been working on alternative routes, having had to cope with short-term closures after Israel’s attack on Iran last June.

He said: “We have many contingency plans, but everything depends on the timing and the airspace affected.

“What we had six months ago we managed very well, but we were also lucky because it depends when it happens where your planes are, and we had some time.”

Etihad addressed the potential disruption to its routes after revealing that profits rose 37pc to hit $1.7bn in 2025. This came after revenues increased 21pc to $8.4bn.

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