SIA falls 7.5% after cancelling flights due to US-Israel strikes on Iran; Sats down 6.4%

[SINGAPORE] Shares of Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Sats fell on Monday (Mar 2) morning as the US-Israeli war against Iran led to flight cancellations over the weekend.

This mirrored a broader market rout, with the Straits Times Index opening 2.1 per cent lower at 4,891.09 points on Monday, in line with declines in key Asia markets.

On Monday morning, shares of SIA fell to S$6.64 as at 9.20 am, down 7.5 per cent or S$0.54. By 11.34 am, the counter pared some losses but was still 4.9 per cent or S$0.35 lower at S$6.83, with 15.9 million shares trading hands.

Shares of ground handler and inflight caterer Sats dropped as much as 6.4 per cent or S$0.25 to S$3.67 as at 10.55 am. The stock then trimmed some losses – rising to S$3.70 as at 11.34 am, 5.6 per cent or S$0.22 lower on the day after 8.5 million shares transacted.

Global travel shock; 26 SIA, Scoot flights cancelled

The declines follow the cancellation of 26 SIA and Scoot flights between Feb 28 and Mar 7, after a wave of US-Israel air strikes against Iran resulted in several countries in the Middle East closing their airspaces, and airlines cancelling or diverting flights.

SIA said that two daily flights between Singapore and Dubai were cancelled between Feb 28 and Mar 7 – a total of 16 flights. Additionally, two Scoot flights between Singapore and Jeddah scheduled for Feb 28, Mar 2, 3, 5 and 7 were also cancelled.

The air strikes have led to the shutdown of key Middle Eastern airports including in Dubai, the world’s busiest international hub, amid one of the aviation sector’s worse shocks in recent years.

Other major airports that were closed or severely disrupted include Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and Doha in Qatar.

The national carrier said it was monitoring the Middle East situation and would adjust flight paths “as needed”. It warned that other SIA flights may be affected.

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On Saturday, the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran, pushing the Middle East into a renewed conflict which has disrupted global air travel, as well as clouded the outlook for a peaceful resolution to the West’s nuclear dispute with Teheran.

The air strikes, part of a campaign to overthrow the government of Iran, have killed the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law and son-in-law, and 48 Iranian leaders.