How geopolitical tensions are reshaping the map of commercial air routes

In 2026, global airspace is increasingly affected by geopolitical conflicts, with drone swarms over Russia and Ukraine and restricted airspace in Iran. The U.S. Department of Transportation fined Air France-KLM for unsafe flights in Iraqi airspace. This situation mirrors the Cold War era, where aviation risks peaked with the 1983 downing of a Korean Air flight. Since the 2010s, air routes have been disrupted, shifting the aviation center from the West to Asia due to geopolitical and economic factors.