Middle East

Following the military escalation between the US, Israel, and Iran on 28 February–1 March 2026, sea operations across the Middle East have been significantly disrupted. The situation remains fluid. This page will be updated as new information becomes available.

For the majority of Asia-Europe container shipments, the operational picture has not materially changed: Cape of Good Hope routing has been the standard since January 2024, and transit times on those lanes remain as they have been. What has changed is that Gulf-origin and Gulf-destination cargo is now directly affected by the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Country	Seaports	Overall
UAE	Jebel Ali, Khor Fakkan, Fujairah: fully operational (ISPS Level 1). Ruwais: ISPS Level 2. GPS spoofing advisory offshore Fujairah remains in effect. Temporary customs facilitation in place — containers arriving at Fujairah or Khor Fakkan for Jebel Ali or Abu Dhabi may be transported by road without standard customs clearance procedures.	✓ Operational
Saudi Arabia	Red Sea ports (Jeddah, King Abdullah): operating normally (ISPS Level 1). Jeddah increasingly used as a Sea/Air alternative gateway for Gulf-bound cargo. Eastern Province (Dammam/Jubail): domestic calls only.	⚠ Partial
Qatar	Hamad Port and Doha Port: operational, activity below pre-conflict levels. Mesaieed and Ras Laffan: operational, GPS degradation advisory in effect. Al Ruwais: restricted to small craft only. Al Shaheen Terminal and Halul Island Terminal: suspended until further notice. Official alternative routing: primary — Sohar, Salalah, Duqm; secondary — Fujairah, Khor Fakkan.	⚠ Partial
Kuwait	Shuwaikh: fully operational. Shuaiba: operational. Both ports under ISPS Level 2. Container vessels bound for Shuaiba redirected to Shuwaikh (max draft 9.6m).	✓ Operational
Bahrain	Khalifa Bin Salman Port (APM Terminal): operations resumed; vessel movements limited due to restricted pilot availability. BAPCO operations suspended. ISPS Level 1.	⚠ Partial
Iraq	Umm Qasr and Khor Al Zubair: fully operational, all container berths functioning normally.	✓ Operational
Oman	Sohar, Duqm, Port Sultan Qaboos: operating normally and serving as primary alternative gateways for Gulf-bound cargo. Salalah CT and GCT: resumed operations (as of 16 March, following suspension after drone strikes on 11 March) — liquid cargo still suspended. GPS interference advisory at Mina Al Fahal — Doppler log required for berthing.	⚠ Partial (GPS advisory)
Jordan	Aqaba Port: operating normally.	✓ Operational
Iran	Strait of Hormuz effectively closed to mainstream commercial container traffic. IRGC-controlled transit route via Larak Island available for select vessels — requires documentation, Iranian permission, and in some cases payment.	🔴 Disrupted
Egypt	All ports and Suez Canal operating without disruption. Cape of Good Hope routing remains the operational baseline for Asia–Europe services — Suez Canal not in active use for container mainline calls.	✓ Operational

Red Sea and Suez Canal
Cape of Good Hope routing continues as the operational baseline for all Asia-Europe services. For customers on these lanes: no change to current transit times.

Strait of Hormuz
Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply since 1 March 2026. While no formal legal closure has been declared, IRGC radio warnings confirmed by UKMTO and EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, active kinetic incidents, and individual carrier decisions have led most vessels to avoid transit.

This primarily affects cargo originating from or destined for Gulf countries — UAE, Saudi Arabia (Eastern Province), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, and Oman. For the majority of container shipments on Asia-Europe lanes that do not touch Gulf ports, the Hormuz situation does not affect routing.

Following the military escalation between the US, Israel, and Iran from 28th February 2026, Air Freight operations across the Middle East have been significantly disrupted. Several countries in the region have implemented temporary airspace closures or restrictions, leading to widespread flight cancellations and operational adjustments by airlines.

The largest impact is the reduced availability of cargo capacity via key Gulf hub airports, particularly Dubai (DXB/DWC), Doha (DOH), and Abu Dhabi (AUH). These hubs normally serve as major transit points for Air Freight moving between Asia, Europe, and Africa. While some airports and airlines continue operating with adjusted routings, many carriers have suspended or reduced services to the region, resulting in limited uplift capacity and longer transit times.

Air Freight flows between Asia and Europe remain operational, with airlines increasingly relying on direct long-haul flights or alternative hubs such as Istanbul. However, customers may experience temporary capacity constraints, schedule changes, and rate volatility while the situation evolves.

Your Forto contact will reach out directly if your specific shipment is affected. For immediate queries, contact us here: [email protected]

Air Freight across Iran / Middle East remains structurally disrupted, with minor operational stabilization observed since the weekend.
What we are seeing now is that the market is beginning to adapt operationally to the constraints, rather than being driven by daily shocks.

Airspace & Network Reality

Iran remains fully closed and non-operational, which continues to be the single biggest structural constraint. This removes the most efficient East–West routing option and forces all traffic into longer alternatives.

Airlines have now largely accepted that the southern corridor (Egypt → Saudi → Oman) is the new standard routing. At the same time, the northern corridor via Turkey and the Caucasus has become the second backbone.

The key changes since the last update:

• No reopening of airspace or structural change
• JED congestion slightly eased operationally, but still at high level
• MCT remains stable, but now consistently at full utilization
• Fuel topic becoming more visible in operations:
  • Airlines adjusting uplift strategies
  • Early signs of payload trade-offs
•  Airlines maintaining strict cargo prioritization

Operational Stability:

• Reduced volatility compared to last week
• Fewer ad-hoc disruptions reported
• Routing patterns now fully standardized

System remains highly dependent on:

• Saudi Arabia
• Oman
• Turkey

Capacity Situation:

Capacity has not recovered, but stabilized at a low level:

• Airlines are now operating with reduced but predictable networks
• Effective capacity still limited due to longer routings and airspace constraints

Market Behaviour:

The market has clearly transitioned:

• Airlines enforcing strict cargo prioritization
  Reduced acceptance of:
  • Low-yield cargo
  • Flexible routing requests
• Strong focus on network efficiency and yield protection
• Taiwan shipments (semiconductors / wafers) receiving top priority

General Rates

• Rates remain stable at high level
• No major spike, but:
  • fuel argument gaining weight in pricing discussions
• Surcharges continue unchanged

Taiwan → Europe

• Noticeable rate spike over last days
• Driven by:
  • Increased semiconductor / wafer production output
  • High urgency shipments (time-critical, high value)
  • Limited available capacity

Strong competition for uplift ex-Taiwan; Premium pricing for secured capacity; Increased rollover risk for non-priority cargo

China → Europe (general)

• Rates stable at high level, but:
• Upward pressure returning through spillover from Taiwan
• Carriers reallocating capacity toward higher-yield Taiwan cargo

Reliability

Increased delays at key hubs (JED in particular); Higher dependency on planned connections; Reduced ability to recover from disruptions

Risk

Security risk unchanged (UAE remains key trigger point)
Compliance / insurance unchanged (LOI still critical)

Fuel risk increasing: Potential supply constraints; Impact on payload and routing

Country	Airports	Overall
Azerbaijan	Baku (GYD): cargo flights operating with rerouting via Caucasus corridor	✓ Operational
Bahrain	Bahrain International Airport (BAH): cargo operations partially suspended	⚠ Partial
Egypt	Cairo International Airport (CAI): operating normally and increasingly used as an alternative cargo gateway.	✓ Operational
Iraq	Baghdad (BGW) and Erbil (EBL): partially open again	⚠ Partial
Israel	Ben Gurion Airport (TLV): heavily restricted operations for military airplanes only	🔴 Disrupted
Jordan	Queen Alia International Airport (AMM): reduced flight activity	⚠ Partial
Kuwait	Kuwait International Airport (KWI): airport closed following security incident; operations suspended	🔴 Disrupted
Lebanon	Beirut (BEY): airspace closed	🔴 Disrupted
Oman	Muscat (MCT): operational and used for rerouted cargo	✓ Operational
Qatar	Hamad International Airport (DOH): Partially reopened for limited/repatriation flights only	⚠ Partial
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh (RUH) and Jeddah (JED): operating with adjusted routings JED becoming the new Sea/Air solution Operational with rerouting; congestion building; key transit alternative	⚠ Partial
Syria	Damascus (DAM) and Aleppo (ALP): largely suspended No commercial cargo operations; airspace high risk	🔴 Disrupted
Turkey	Istanbul Airport (IST): fully functional; major rerouting hub; high capacity utilization	✓ Operational
UAE	Dubai (DXB/DWC) and Abu Dhabi (AUH): Partially open; intermittent disruptions, improved vs weekend	⚠ Partial

 

Airline	Operations	Overall
Cargolux	Middle East bookings remain limited, with selective flows and rerouting via alternative corridors	⚠ Partial
Cargo Airlines (CAL – 5C / X7)	Selective cargo operations & acceptance; avoiding Gulf airspace; ad-hoc charter flexibility	⚠ Partial
DHL Aviation	Network stable but extended routings via Saudi/Oman; delays on ME-bound cargo	⚠ Partial
EL AL Cargo	Operations suspended	🔴 Disrupted
Emirates SkyCargo	Frequent diversions/turnbacks; partial ops resumed but unstable	⚠ Partial
Etihad Cargo	Limited schedule; ongoing disruptions and rerouting	⚠ Partial
flydubai Cargo	Limited narrowbody capacity; reduced regional frequencies; prioritizing essential cargo	⚠ Partial
Gulf Air Cargo	BAH operating with restrictions; reliance on Saudi overflight; limited network reach	⚠ Partial
Kuwait Airways Cargo	Suspended due to airspace closure	🔴 Disrupted
Lufthansa Cargo	Middle East services reduced and rerouted, Multiple Middle East cargo stations remain suspended or embargoed Avoiding region; rerouting long-haul flows	⚠ Partial
Oman Air Cargo	Operating; benefiting from rerouting flows	✓ Operational
Qatar Airways Cargo	Limited operations; hub access restricted to special/approved flights	🔴 Disrupted
Saudia Cargo	Operating with rerouting via safe corridors; delays and congestion at RUH/JED	⚠ Partial
Silk Way West Airlines	Freighter operations via Caucasus corridor, selective regional operations	⚠ Partial
Turkish Airlines Cargo	Fully operational; major bypass hub	✓ Operational

Corridor	Capacity vs Normal
Asia → Europe	~65-70%
Europe → Asia	~65-70%
Middle East Transit Capacity	~40-45%

Capacity is not increasing, but is now more consistently available within known constraints. 

Gulf–Europe belly capacity recovery

Date	Capacity vs Normal
28 Feb	100% baseline
03 Mar	~55%
05 Mar	~62%
07 Mar	~70%
09 Mar	~76%
11 Mar	~55%
13 Mar	~45%
18 Mar	~50-55%
Latest	~45%

No meaningful recovery.

Still structurally limited due to:

• Airline avoidance
• Security concerns
• Reduced passenger operations

Load factor development

China → Europe: ~90–95% (peak conditions)

Taiwan → Europe: ~95%+ (critical / priority-driven)

Asia → Europe overall: ~90–95%

Europe → Asia: ~75–85%

Fuel costs remain at an elevated level following the recent geopolitical developments in the Middle East. While oil prices have eased slightly from the peak levels seen at the end of March, there has been no meaningful or sustained decline that would indicate a normalization of fuel costs.

The current situation continues to be driven by a fragile ceasefire environment, where underlying tensions remain unresolved. As a result, the market is still pricing in potential supply disruptions, particularly linked to key transit routes and production stability in the region. Importantly, supply chains have not been fully restored to pre-crisis conditions, and operational risks remain present.

From an aviation perspective, this means that kerosene costs continue to act as a structural cost driver, rather than a temporary volatility factor. Airlines are therefore maintaining a cautious pricing approach, as the risk of renewed escalation or supply constraints remains high.

In summary, despite some short-term easing, the overall fuel environment has not materially improved. Prices remain elevated, supply conditions are not fully normalized, and the outlook continues to be uncertain and highly dependent on geopolitical developments.