Aircraft tracked via ADS-B over 10 countries from February 28 through March 4, 2026. Charts show unique aircraft per hour, combining data from ADS-B Exchange and airplanes.live. This is an updated version of an earlier post that covered just the day of February 28.
Iranian aviation collapsed within an hour of the first strikes at 06:10 UTC on February 28, falling from around 65 aircraft to nearly zero by 07:00. It remained completely shut through March 4, with only one or two aircraft occasionally visible.
Israel’s airspace shut down shortly after Iran began retaliating. Traffic stopped by 13:00 on February 28. The few flights visible from March 1 onward were mainly USAF KC-135 tankers, Israeli military transports, cargo freighters, and helicopters. A handful of El Al passenger flights resumed on March 3.
Jordanian airspace dropped sharply from around 30 aircraft to single digits by 09:00 on February 28, but never fully closed. Royal Jordanian kept flying throughout, and the country saw Israeli and Western military transits (USAF tankers, French and RAF transports, a USAF RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft). Saudi and Egyptian commercial flights began returning on March 3–4, with daytime peaks around 10–13—still well below pre-strike levels.
Turkish airspace was largely unaffected. Traffic continued its normal diurnal cycle of roughly 80–330 aircraft throughout the five days, making Turkey the only country in the region to maintain essentially normal operations.
Saudi traffic dropped sharply on February 28, falling from a peak of 181 to around 55 by midday. It stabilized at roughly half of normal levels on March 1 and began a gradual recovery, reaching about 80% of pre-strike levels by March 4.
Kuwaiti airspace shut down completely by 10:00 on February 28, dropping from 60 aircraft to zero. The only flights over the following days were Kuwait Air Force C-130J and C-17 transports and a single Kuwaiti government 737. Zero commercial traffic.
Bahrain’s airspace emptied out by 09:00 on February 28, hours before the Fifth Fleet facility was struck at 11:31. No aircraft were tracked over Bahrain for the remainder of the period—a complete and sustained closure.
Qatar saw traffic collapse from around 45 aircraft to near zero by late morning on February 28. The activity that remained was almost entirely military: unidentified surveillance aircraft flying continuous orbits, Qatari C-17s and C-130Js, French and RAF A400M transports, and Qatari government helicopters. Commercial traffic was limited to a few overflights.
The UAE—home to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, two of the world’s busiest international hubs—saw traffic plummet from around 165 aircraft to single digits by midday on February 28. For the next five days, hourly counts hovered in the low single digits to mid-twenties, mostly overflights by Saudia, Oman Air, Air India, and Pakistani carriers transiting at cruise altitude. Etihad began limited departures on March 2, Emirates followed with A380 services, and Air Arabia resumed on March 3. By March 4, local airport operations were still only a fraction of normal.
Omani airspace dropped from around 126 aircraft to about 15 by the afternoon of February 28. Unlike most Gulf neighbors, Oman maintained a reduced but nonzero level of traffic throughout, and showed a steady recovery—reaching roughly a quarter of normal levels by March 4.