Cockpit footage shows Iranian rockets arcing near flight over Middle East

Alarming footage taken from a British Airways flight over the Middle East captured the moment all hell broke loose.

Alarming footage taken from the cockpit of a British Airways flight over the Middle East captured Iranian-launched missiles soaring nearby — suggesting Iran failed to make sure the airways were clear of international civilian flights.

The clip was filmed by the pilot of the Dubai-bound BA flight Tuesday evening and showed what is clearly a volley of recently fired ballistic missiles rising into the night sky on their way to Israel.

Flights were diverted from the entire Middle East airspace after Iran started firing rockets at Israel on Tuesday evening.

All the missiles safely cleared the airliner — but the footage showed just how close Iran came to immediately setting off an international incident by firing rockets into the skies without first making sure they were clear of civilian air traffic from across the world.

Before Iran opened fire around 7.30pm, the Middle East airspace was filled with commercial flights.

Airlines scrambled to divert their flights from the skies over the Middle East as the Iranian missiles started flying without warning around 7.30pm local time.

Flight trackers from the region soon showed a gaping clearing in the airspace between Iran and Israel that has persisted hours after the barrage ended — with planes flying north and south of the entire Middle East to avoid the possibility of future missile fire.

Airports in Iran, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, and Israel, also immediately began suspending flights in and out of their airports, according to BNE.

Wow, Iran took a Serious Risk tonight besides from just launching an Attack on Israel. Since they did not issue a NOTAM for their Western Airspace before launching the Attack, several Commercial Airliners came within Close-Range of Ballistic Missile Launches, including this one… https://t.co/94bT4mpQUs

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) October 2, 2024

Many planes already in the air were diverted to Cyprus and Egypt.

The Australian reported a notice to airmen issued overnight advised of airspace closures over Iraq and Jordan in response to the air strikes, resulting in abrupt changes to flight paths.

Qantas flight QF34 from Paris to Perth normally flew over the top of those countries as shown on flight radar, but it’s understood alternative paths were being taken, according to the publication.

A spokeswoman said they had many routes available to them, and frequently changed paths for weather or security reasons.

The path Qantas’ Perth-Paris flight would normally take but the airline is re-routing services away from the danger zone in the Middle East. Picture: Flightradar24.com

Some airlines have even suspended routes to Israel and Iran altogether as the region is poised to explode into all-out war.

Lufthansa Group — which operates Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, and Swiss Air — suspended all flights to Beirut until November 30, flights to Tel Aviv until October 31, and flights to Tehran until October 14, Fortune reported.

Palestinian youths inspect a fallen projectile after Iran launched a barrage of missiles at Israel in response to the killings of Lebanese Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and other Iran-backed militants, in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 1. Picture: Zain Jr / AFP

Members of Israel's Home Front Command and police forces inspect a crater left by an exploded projectile at a heavily-damaged school building in Israel's southern city of Gedera on October 1. Picture: Menahem Kahana / AFP

This picture shows Iranian launched projectiles being intercepted by Israel above Jerusalem, on October 1. Picture: Menahem Kahana / AFP

KLM, out of the Netherlands, has suspended flights to Tel Aviv through the end of the year.

Those cancellations come after the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency — which regulates air safety for Europe — recommended on Saturday that airlines avoid the airspace between Lebanon and Israel, citing “an overall intensification of air strikes and degradation in the security situation”.

Israel launched a ground invasion of Lebanon on Monday to begin rooting out the terrorist group Hezbollah, after a year of sporadic rocket volleys back and forth.

Iran responded with the Tuesday missile barrage — which ultimately proved to be largely ineffective, as only two Israelis were wounded, and the only death was a Palestinian in the West Bank killed by falling debris from an intercepted missile.

Nevertheless, Israel has vowed to respond, leading to heightened fears of an all out war in the region.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission