Iran Closes Airspace Briefly; India Flights Impacted
Iran temporarily closed its airspace to civilian flights on Jan 14-15, 2026, via NOTAM; airlines like Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet faced cancellations, re-routes and delays
Jan 15, 2026 - Iran temporarily shut parts of its airspace to most flights, issuing formal aviation notices NOTAMs (Notice to Air Missions) on Wednesday (January 14) night restricting access to civilian air traffic without prior permission from Iranian authorities. These NOTAMs applied primarily to the Tehran Flight Information Region (FIR) and impacted routine overflights used by international airlines.
The notice issued Thursday at 22:15 (UTC or or GMT) read: “Tehran flight information region (FIR) closed to all flights except international civil arrivals and departures to and from Tehran FIR with prior permission from Iran Civil Aviation Authority.”
Iran later re-opened its airspace after several hours of disruption, allowing flights to resume normal routes, though the situation remains fluid and subject to extension depending on security assessments.
Indian carriers, such as Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet, have said that some of their international flights have been hit as a result of this. Air India cancelled its Thursday morning Delhi-New York JFK (AI 101), Delhi-Newark (AI 105) and Mumbai-JFK (AI 119). Additionally, IndiGo’s Baku-Delhi flight on Thursday morning was forced to return to the Azerbaijani capital because of the sudden closure of airspace over Iran.
During the airspace closure periods, only a limited number of international flights with special authorisation were permitted, while many carriers rerouted, delayed or cancelled services to and from Iran.
The airspace closures come on the back of heightened geopolitical tensions, notably between Iran and the US. This was triggered by Iran’s domestic unrest — large nationwide protests and a government crackdown — as well as concerns of potential military escalation. Fears of US strike rose after the latter withdrew personnel from its bases in the region.
A United Nations Security Council briefing is scheduled later Thursday in response to the crisis and for “a briefing on the situation in Iran”, underlining the international concern over both the domestic protests and regional security dynamics.
With Media Inputs
#IranAirspaceClosure #TehranFIR #FlightDisruptions #AirIndiaCancel #IndiGoImpact #SpiceJetFlights #NOTAMNews #AviationSafety #MiddleEastTensions #TravelAdvisory #GlobalFlights
To join us on Facebook Click Here and Subscribe to UdaipurTimes Broadcast channels on GoogleNews | Telegram | Signal