No flights have been cancelled at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA), despite the decision by several countries in the Middle East to close their respective airspace following airstrikes by Iran on a military base in Qatar yesterday (23).

However, according to a BIA spokesperson, a number of flights due to leave for airports in the Middle East have been delayed.

Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait closed their respective airspaces yesterday following airstrikes by Iran targeting the Al Udeid US military base in Doha.

Airlines decided to reroute flights significantly due to wider regional tensions.

Iran’s military said on Monday it had carried out a “devastating and powerful” missile attack on the Al Udeid U.S. airbase in Qatar, after explosions were heard across the Qatari capital following Tehran’s threat to retaliate for U.S. airstrikes.

Iran had issued threats to retaliate against the United States after U.S. bombers dropped 30,000-pound bunker-busters on Iranian underground nuclear sites at the weekend, joining Israel’s air war against Tehran, and President Donald Trump mooted the possibility of the Iranian government being toppled.

Qatar’s defence minister, quoted by Al Jazeera TV, said its air defences had intercepted missiles directed at the Al Udeid air base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East, situated across the Gulf from Iran.
Qatari authorities said there were no casualties in the attack, which it condemned and said it reserved the right to respond.