Since February 28, 2026, when the United States and Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iranian leadership, military sites, nuclear facilities, and missile infrastructure—killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggering full-scale Iranian retaliation—the Middle East has plunged into open war. Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and thousands of drones at Israel and U.S. bases across the Gulf, while the conflict has spilled into airspace closures, airport strikes, and energy chaos. The aviation industry, already fragile after years of geopolitical shocks, is now facing its most severe disruption in decades. Mass Flight Cancellations and Airspace Collapse Within days of the first strikes, more than 37,000 flights to and from the Middle East were canceled between February 28 and