Airlines steered clear of much of the Middle East on Friday after Israeli attacks on Iranian sites forced carriers to cancel or divert thousands of flights in the latest upheaval to travel in the region.

Airlines around the world are scrubbing flights to the Middle East in the wake of Israel’s strikes on Iran. The skies over a swath of the region emptied as Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria shut their airspace and airlines rerouted.

Global air traffic has been disrupted following Israel’s strikes on Iran Friday, with several major airlines suspending flights to and from locations in the Middle East and rerouting their planes to avoid much of the region’s airspace.