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By David Shepardson and Allison Lampert
WASHINGTON/MONTREAL, Jan 8 (Reuters) - 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
cancelled 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 neighbors.
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.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Shepardson
in Washington; Additional reporting by Tracy Rucinski in
Chicago, Heekyong Yang in Seoul, Aradhana Aravindan in
Singapore, Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok, Aditi Shah in New
Delhi, Liz Lee in Kuala Lumpur, Yimou Lee in Taipei, Alexander
Cornwell in Dubai and Ilona Wissenbach in Frankfurt, Sarah Young
in London; Writing by Jamie Freed and Laurence Frost; Editing by
David Gregorio, Gerry Doyle and Hugh Lawson)
