Major airlines canceled Iran and Iraq flights on Wednesday and re-routed
others away from both countries’ airspace, following an Iranian missile strike
on United States-led forces in Iraq.
Germany’s Lufthansa, Dubai-based Emirates and low-cost flydubai were
among airlines that canceled flights, as the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration barred American carriers from the area. But several other
carriers continued operations over the affected airspace.
Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from its territory targeting at
least two Iraqi military bases hosting U.S.-led coalition personnel early on
Wednesday, the U.S. military said.
Within hours, the FAA barred U.S. carriers from airspace over Iran, the Gulf of
Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia, citing “heightened
military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which
present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations.”
The flight ban came shortly before a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737
burst into flames shortly after take-off from Tehran, killing all 176 people
aboard in a crash blamed by Ukrainian authorities on an engine failure.
Non-U.S. operators are not bound by the FAA’s flight ban, but they and other
regulators consider its advice carefully when deciding where to fly.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is studying the situation,
a spokeswoman said.
Airlines have taken more steps to avoid flying over conflict zones since 2014,
when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed by a missile fired from
Ukraine, killing 298 people. But re-routing increases flight times and burns
extra fuel.
Australia’s Qantas Airways said on Wednesday it would add 50 minutes to its
Perth-London flight time and cut passenger numbers to carry more fuel as it
re-routes around Iran and Iraq.
The FAA had already prohibited U.S. carriers from Iranian airspace and flying
below 26,000 feet over Iraq, after Iran shot down a high-altitude U.S. drone
last June.
Lufthansa has stopped flying over Iran and Iraq and canceled its daily service
to Tehran as well as the next scheduled flight to Erbil, Iraq, the airline said on
Wednesday.
Air France-KLM, which halted flights to the Iranian capital in 2018, said it was
also suspending Air France flights through Iranian and Iraqi airspace “as a
precautionary measure”.
British Airways said a small number of its flights would be affected by re-
routing, without elaborating. Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines Ltd, Malaysia
Airlines, Air Canada and Taiwan’s China Airlines were also among carriers
that re-routed flights.
“As a result, flight times to and from Mumbai may be slightly longer than
expected,” a Virgin spokeswoman said.
Other major airlines maintained flights over Iraq and Iran but said they were
actively monitoring the situation.
As of 0830 GMT, airlines still flying over either country included Qatar
Airways, Emirates, Etihad Airways, Turkish Airlines, flydubai, Air Arabia and
low-cost long-haul carrier Norwegian Air, according to FlightRadar24 data.
“We fly across Iran on flights to and from Dubai. Our security department
monitors the situation closely with ongoing evaluations,” Norwegian said in a
statement.
“The safety and security for our passengers and crew is always our number
one priority.”
While Emirates and flydubai each canceled a return flight to Baghdad, Qatar
Airways said its flights to Iraq were operating normally.
The use of Iranian and Iraqi airspace is particularly critical for the Qatari
carrier, banned from flying over Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and
Bahrain since mid-2017 as the result of a damaging dispute with its
neighbours.
OPSGROUP, which advises airlines on security, said the new U.S. flight bans
were “significant”, particularly given that the entire over-water airspace in the
region is now unavailable.
“Flights headed to and from the main airports in the region such as Dubai will
now need to route through Saudi Arabia’s airspace,” it said on its website.
