The Iran conflict has forced airlines to cancel 23,000 flights since the first strikes by the US at the weekend, according to analytics company Cirium, The Telegraph reports.

Emirates, the largest international airline in the world, said it had extended its suspension of flights to Dubai until Saturday.

The first UK Government rescue flight was expected to take off later today, having been delayed for “operational reasons” on the ground, according to Home Office minister Alex Norris.

Shares in airlines plunged as Wizz Air said it faced a €50 million blow to its profits from the crisis in the Middle East after it was forced to cancel flights.

The Hungarian carrier, which operates a fleet of 260 planes, issued a profit warning as it faced “adverse movement in macroeconomic factors” such as rising oil and natural gas prices.

Its shares dropped by as much as 7.9 percent as it warned that it expects losses for its current financial year to exceed €25 million.

Other airlines were also hit, with easyJet down as much as 4.7 percent and British Airways owner IAG dropping by as much as 3.7 percent. More than £845 million was wiped off UK-listed carriers on Thursday alone.

The total value of UK airline shares fell by almost £3 billion.