What Does the Middle East Escalation Impact Global Ocean and Air Freight?  

Recent escalation in the Middle East is increasing disruption risk across two systems that underpin global trade: 

Ocean networks: uncertainty is elevated for services operating in and around the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, with wider knock-on impacts to global schedules as carriers adjust rotations and routing decisions. 

Air networks: airspace closures and hub disruption across parts of the Middle East are driving cancellations, reroutes, and reduced uplift for cargo. 

Cost pressure: war-risk/security and operational changes can trigger short-notice surcharges, plus rate volatility as capacity tightens. 

Airspace + hub status  

As of: 1 Mar 2026, the following airspaces have been reported as closed, which is contributing to longer routings and reduced capacity across some air freight networks: 

• Iran (IR) 

• Iraq (IQ) 

• Israel (IL) 

• Syria (SY) 

• Qatar (QA) 

• Kuwait (KW) 

• Bahrain (BH) 

• United Arab Emirates (AE / UAE) 

The following hubs are seeing major disruption, impacting connections and overall network fluidity: 

• Dubai, UAE – DXB (Dubai International) 

• Dubai, UAE – DWC (Al Maktoum / Dubai World Central) 

• Abu Dhabi, UAE – AUH (Zayed International) 

• Doha, Qatar – DOH (Hamad International) 

• Additional impacted airports often used for connections: 

• Kuwait City, Kuwait – KWI (Kuwait International) 

• Manama, Bahrain – BAH (Bahrain International) 

Ocean freight routes  

The following sea routes are most likely to be affected: 

• Middle East/GCC ↔ Asia (India/Subcontinent, China, Southeast Asia) 

• Middle East/India ↔ Europe/UK (especially Mediterranean + South Europe connections) 

• Middle East/India ↔ U.S. East Coast where services typically rely on Suez-linked strings 

In addition to this a number of lanes will experience an indirect knock-on affecting the service capability. 

• Asia ↔ Europe/UK (North Europe + Med) 

• Asia ↔ North America (West & East Coasts) 

• Africa ↔ Europe/UK 

• Air freight (highest exposure) 

• Asia ↔ Europe/UK via DXB/DWC/AUH/DOH 

• Indian Subcontinent ↔ Europe/UK via DXB/DWC/AUH/DOH 

• Africa ↔ Europe/UK via DXB/DWC/AUH/DOH 

• Middle East ↔ Europe/UK and Middle East ↔ Asia 

What this means for global supply chains 

Ocean schedules may become less reliable in the coming days, with potential reroutes, rolled cargo or blank sailings, and short-notice surcharges where carriers introduce security or operational changes. In air freight, uplift may remain constrained through affected hubs, leading to missed connections, longer routings, and higher market pricing for time-sensitive capacity. 

This is a fast-moving situation. Ligentia is set up to monitor changes closely and respond quickly as carrier decisions evolve. 

We are connected into major ocean and air carrier systems to track schedule changes, cancellations, and reroutes as they occur. 

We are also monitoring major ports for congestion, service disruption, and gate/yard constraints to support rapid replanning as conditions change.Where carriers and conditions allow, we are assessing routing and capacity options that balance: 

• time, cost, and reliability 

• gateway alternatives across ports and airports 

• mode considerations for time-critical flows (where feasible) 

Ongoing updates  

Ligentia teams are actively assessing impacted flows as information becomes available, with a focus on clarity and timely communication as ETAs and capacity conditions shift. 

We will publish further updates as conditions change and as carrier routing and capacity decisions become clearer. 

How we’re supporting customers during this period 

Ligentia is helping customers navigate disruption by providing live visibility, rapid impact assessment, and clear, practical communication as the situation develops — working directly with carrier networks to understand changes, anticipate knock-on effects, and keep supply chains moving with as much certainty as possible.