All flights between Cyprus and Israel, both arrivals and departures, were due to be suspended on Friday in the wake of the early morning Israeli attack on Iran.

According to Hermes Airports live data, arrivals and departures were suspended by the airlines operating the route, among them Cyprus Airways, TUS, Sundor, Arkia, Air Haifa and Wizz Air.

In announcement just before noon, Hermes said that so far, 15 flights involving Larnaca and one for Paphos had been cancelled and it was expected that all scheduled flights to and from Israel slated for Friday would be cancelled.

Around 25 were scheduled in total throughout the day.

In addition to cancelled flights, Hermes said that until 11am on Friday both airports had received numerous requests for diversions of aircraft that were headed to Israeli airports and other neighbouring airports from Europe and the US.

By midday Friday, 29 flights were diverted to Cyprus, of which 20 landed at Larnaca and nine at Paphos.

In total, 2,427 passengers were disembarked, 979 at Larnaca and 1,448 at Paphos.

“Passengers on the flights that were diverted to Larnaca and Paphos disembarked from the aircraft, with their airlines making arrangements for their off-airport transportation and accommodation,” Hermes said.

It urged passengers to regularly check their flight status via the website www.hermesairports.com and to contact airlines and travel agents directly before arriving at Larnaca and Paphos airports.

Earlier on Friday, Hermes Airports Director of Aviation Development, Marketing and Communications Maria Kouroupi told CyBC the airport operator had “managed to satisfy all requests for flight diversions”.

Remaining flights to and from both airports in Cyprus continue without disruption, she said.

The crisis is also likely to cause problems to the island’s hotel sector expecting holidaymakers from Israel, one of the island’s biggest tourism markets.

All global airlines cleared out of the airspace over Israel, Iran and Iraq and Jordan on Friday, Flightradar24 data showed, with carriers scrambling to divert and cancel flights to keep passengers and crew safe, Reuters reported.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport was closed until further notice, and Israel’s air defence units stood on high alert for possible retaliatory strikes from Iran.

Iranian airspace has been closed until further notice, according to state media and notices to pilots.

Iraq early on Friday closed its airspace and suspended all traffic at its airports, Iraqi state media reported.