FlightRadar24, the real-time aircraft tracking service used by millions of passengers, aviation professionals and journalists worldwide, went offline on February 28 as US and Israeli military operations against Iran sent flight activity across the Middle East into chaos.

Users attempting to access the website were met with an illustration of an aircraft whose contrail spells out the word "Sorry." The company said engineers were working to restore the service but gave no timeframe for when it would be back online.

The outage came as Iran closed its entire airspace, followed by the UAE, Iraq, Syria, Qatar and other regional states, grounding or rerouting hundreds of flights and leaving aviation tracking services under extraordinary demand as airlines scrambled to find safe corridors.

US President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on February 28, 2026, with Israel launching joint strikes on Tehran and other sites, prompting Iranian retaliation and widespread airspace closures.

Iranian and Israeli airspaces shut immediately, followed by Iraq, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and others, clearing skies over the region per flight trackers.

FlightRadar later returned online after 11:00 UTC, according to a search from IntelliNews to reveal a significant drop in air traffic across West and Central Asia. 

Aeroflot earlier cancelled and rerouted flights from Moscow to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Tehran, with some services requiring additional refuelling stops in Samara. The weekly Moscow-Tehran service also faces possible cancellation.

Qatar confirmed it had intercepted all incoming missiles, while the UAE Ministry of Interior issued an extreme alert ordering residents to seek immediate shelter.

This story is developing. Details remain unverified and subject to change.