Sri Lanka, March 9 -- The escalating tensions involving Iran, the United States, and Israel have once again exposed the fragility of the global aviation map. For three decades, the great Middle Eastern "super-connectors" Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways built a dominant global network on the promise of geographic efficiency, linking Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia through mega hubs in the Persian Gulf.
Yet the very geography that enabled their success now exposes a structural vulnerability. When geopolitical crises disrupt airspace across Iran, Iraq, or the Levant, the efficiency of this hub and spoke model is immediately compromised. In such a volatile environment, global aviation will increasingly demand redundancy and r...