The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has told airlines not to operate in the airspace of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, warning that renewed fighting between the United States and Iran has created unacceptable risks to civil aircraft.
The new Conflict Zone Information Bulletin, issued on July 14, 2026, also covers airspace over the Gulf of Oman within the Muscat Flight Information Region west of 58 degrees east longitude. EASA's recommendation applies at all altitudes and flight levels, and remains valid through July 29 unless the agency rescinds it earlier.
Who the bulletin applies to
The bulletin applies to EASA-regulated airlines as well as foreign operators flying to, from or within the European Union under an EASA authorization. Individual countries retain sovereign authority over their own airspace, but EASA's guidance effectively tells every carrier under its oversight to stay clear of a large slice of the region's busiest aviation corridors.
That is a significant instruction. The airspace above the lower Gulf is some of the most heavily trafficked in the world, funnelling Europe-to-Asia and Europe-to-Australasia traffic through a narrow band of routes and feeding the major connecting hubs of the region. A blanket avoidance recommendation forces European operators either to reroute around the affected flight information regions, absorbing extra fuel burn and block time, or to suspend services outright.
Why EASA acted
EASA said repeated violations of the US-Iran ceasefire had once again created a high level of risk across the Gulf. According to the bulletin, Iranian efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz, attacks against commercial shipping and related US military action have all increased the danger in the region.
The agency also pointed to the major US military facilities hosted by Gulf states as potential targets for Iranian missiles and drones. Missile and drone activity, attempted interceptions and falling debris all pose a threat to aircraft operating nearby, EASA warned. It added that active US and regional air-defence systems could mistake a civilian aircraft for a military target.
"Unpredictable military developments, combined with the possible use of missiles, drones, combat aircraft and air-defense systems, create a high risk to civil flights at all altitudes and flight levels within the concerned airspace," EASA said in the bulletin.
The pattern behind the warning
Conflict Zone Information Bulletins are EASA's principal tool for flagging airspace where the agency judges that the risk to civil aviation has moved beyond what normal operational planning can manage. They are advisory rather than binding in the way a national NOTAM is, but in practice European carriers treat them as instructions: insurers, safety departments and regulators all read them, and flying against one is a decision few airlines are willing to defend.
The distinction that matters here is altitude. Some conflict-zone advisories apply only below a certain flight level, allowing overflights to continue at cruise while keeping aircraft out of the reach of shorter-range systems. This one does not. By applying at all altitudes and flight levels, EASA is signalling that it does not consider height alone to be adequate protection β a judgement consistent with its stated concerns about ballistic threats, long-range air-defence systems and misidentification.
What happens next
The bulletin runs through July 29 unless EASA withdraws it sooner, which gives operators a defined but short planning horizon. Whether it is extended, narrowed or lifted will depend on how the security picture around the Strait of Hormuz develops over the coming fortnight.
For passengers, the practical effects are the familiar ones of any regional airspace closure: longer routings, schedule changes and, on some city pairs, cancellations. For airlines, the calculation is simpler than it looks. When a safety regulator tells you the airspace is not safe, the route economics stop being the deciding factor.
Sources: AeroTime, EASA. Featured image: AI-generated by AviationShop. By Elena Vargas.
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