Many airlines avoid flying over the Middle East due to concerns about tensions

According to flight tracker Flightradar24, Singapore Airlines no longer appears to be using Iranian airspace for any of its routes as of August 2. EVA Air and China Airlines also appear to be avoiding Iranian airspace for flights to Amsterdam on the same day.

The airlines did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the route changes.

Palestinians hold a portrait of late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Iran. Photo: Reuters

OpsGroup, an organization that shares flight risk information, has advised flights between Asia and Europe to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace, a day after sources said senior Iranian officials would meet with representatives of allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss possible retaliation against Israel.

Many airlines, including US and European carriers, have avoided flying over Iran, especially since missile and drone attacks between Iran and Israel in April.

According to data from Flightradar24, the Singapore Airlines flight to Heathrow Airport in London early on the morning of August 2 flew north to Iran via Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, instead of flying over Iran as the day before.

However, a large number of airlines still flew over Iran on August 2, including UAE airlines Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai, as well as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.

In the past two days, Germany's Lufthansa, India's Air India, US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air, as well as Italy's ITA Airways said they had suspended flights to Tel Aviv.

This week, airlines also canceled and delayed flights to Lebanon's capital Beirut following the attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

On August 1, Canada issued a notice requiring its aircraft to avoid Lebanese airspace for a month due to concerns that military activity could endanger the aviation industry.

Over the past month, Britain has warned pilots about the potential risks from anti-aircraft weapons and military activity in Lebanese airspace.

OpsGroup said that if a full-scale conflict broke out in the Middle East, civil aviation could be affected by drones and missiles, as well as the increased risk of GPS spoofing as militaries and other parties send out signals that trick the GPS system.

Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhieu-hang-hang-khong-tranh-bay-qua-trung-dong-vi-lo-ngai-cang-thang-post306016.html