Airline pilots are facing growing risks as the war in the Middle East escalates, with Iran retaliating against strikes by the United States and Israel that killed the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The conflict has filled the skies above several of the world’s busiest airports with ballistic missiles and attack drones.
Iran’s retaliation against the United States and its partners has included strikes on airports, forcing many flights to halt operations from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. Only a limited number of rescue flights have been able to operate.
Pilots and aviation experts say the increasing number of global conflicts has made flying more complex, with crews dealing with restricted airspace and the growing presence of military drones far from active battle zones.
Fear And Anxiety Among Pilots
Several pilots, along with more than half a dozen aviation and security sources, told Reuters that conflicts in regions such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Israel have placed additional pressure on flight crews.
Tanja Harter, a pilot who has worked in the Middle East and president of the European Cockpit Association, said commercial pilots are not trained for combat-related threats.
“We are not military pilots. We are not trained to deal with these kinds of threats in the air,” she told Reuters.
Harter said the latest conflict in the Middle East adds to a series of security challenges that could lead to fear and anxiety among pilots. Airlines now often run peer support programmes to help crews cope with stress.
As a pilot herself, she said she would not want to “share airspace with missiles.”
Flying Higher To Avoid Missile Threats
Pilots operating in the Middle East have long been accustomed to handling emergency situations, according to the head of Lebanon’s civil aviation authority.
A pilot at Middle East Airlines with ten years of experience told Reuters that flights to Beirut have become increasingly difficult to manage.
Previously, shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in Lebanon had a range of about 15,000 feet. To remain safe, pilots would climb above that altitude. Aircraft also often carried additional fuel in case they needed to divert to another airport.
Even so, most missile strikes occur far enough away to avoid posing a direct threat, and pilots are often too occupied during flights to focus on them.
Drone Threats Extend Beyond The Middle East
The growing threat is not limited to the Middle East. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drones have become a major weapon in modern warfare.
Airports in European cities such as Stockholm and Munich have reported disruptions caused by drones, which are suspected, though not confirmed, to be linked to the conflict.
Airline Captain Christian von D’Ahe, head of the Danish Air Line Pilots Association and a commercial pilot for 15 years, said the increasing risks are a cause for concern.
“Drones are not easily detected,” Von D’Ahe said. “We can see them in the air, and they’re very small. So sooner or later, something will happen.”
If drones strike an aircraft’s engines, it could cause a complete loss of power. Damage to the wings could also affect a plane’s ability to manoeuvre.
Why Drones Are Difficult To Detect
Most registered aircraft transmit signals through a transponder that allows radar systems to identify them.
Drones, however, do not transmit such signals, making them difficult for pilots to detect or track. Standard airport radar systems also struggle to identify them.
While specialised radar systems exist, these are usually operated by law enforcement agencies or the military.
Airports Have Limited Options To Respond
Airports can deploy radar systems, frequency sensors and jamming tools to counter drones. Some technologies can also “spoof” drones and force them off course.
However, aviation safety rules prevent airports from shooting drones down.
Tim Friebe, an air traffic controller in Germany and vice president of the Air Traffic Controllers European Unions Coordination (ATCEUC), said the threat from drones is increasing while response options remain limited.
“For now we have reports, pilot reports, or sometimes controllers spot drones. The problem is there’s not much you can do except shutting down the airport,” he said.
Pilots Recount Near-Miss Incidents
Moritz Burger, a commercial pilot based in Germany, recalled seeing a suspicious object while preparing to land at a European airport.
“I was looking out of the window and suddenly there appeared an object that passed by just below our aircraft. We could see it for maybe one, maximum two seconds,” he said.
The brief encounter left him shaken and offered no opportunity to react.
“When you encounter such a near-miss or some passing object, there is not enough time to react. So it is unrealistic to expect that pilots could fly around such an object. There’s pretty much nothing we can do.”
