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Commercial airlines reroute flights amid US-Iran tensions

Published:Thursday | January 9, 2020 | 12:28 AM
FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2015 file photo, two Qantas planes taxi on the runway at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia. Some Asian airlines have rerouted flights to the Middle East to avoid Iranian airspace, amid escalated tensions over the United States’ assassination of a prominent Iranian commander in Iraq. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Aug. 20, 2015 file photo, two Qantas planes taxi on the runway at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia. Some Asian airlines have rerouted flights to the Middle East to avoid Iranian airspace, amid escalated tensions over the United States’ assassination of a prominent Iranian commander in Iraq. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

NEW DELHI (AP):

Commercial airlines are rerouting flights throughout the Middle East to avoid potential danger during heightened tensions between the United States (US) and Iran.

Jumbled schedules could affect as many as 15,000 passengers per day, lengthen flight times by an average of 30 to 90 minutes, and severely bruise the bottom line for airlines, industry analysts said.

There is anxiety that the conflict between the longtime foes could intensify following Iranian ballistic missile strikes this week on two Iraqi bases that house US troops. The attacks were retaliation for the US killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad last week.

“In a war situation, the first casualty is always air transport,” said Dubai-based aviation consult Mark Martin, pointing to airline bankruptcies during the Persian Gulf and Yugoslav wars.

At least 500 commercial flights travel through Iranian and Iraqi airspace daily, Martin said.

Mechanical issue

A Ukrainian passenger jet crashed shortly after taking off from Iran’s capital Wednesday killing 167 passengers and nine crew members just hours after Iran’s ballistic missile attack, but Iranian officials said they suspected a mechanical issue brought down the 3½-year-old Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Ukrainian officials initially agreed, but later backed away and declined to offer a cause while the investigation is ongoing.

Still, at least two Kazakh airlines – Air Astana and SCAT – were considering rerouting or cancelling their flights over Iran following the crash, which killed all 176 passengers.

Poland’s national carrier, PLL LOT, said Saturday that it was changing routes to bypass Iran’s airspace.

A suite of other European carriers followed on Wednesday, and the restrictions were expected to “further depress” air travel between Iran and Western Europe, which saw strong growth after the Iran nuclear deal but a sharp dive when President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement and reimposed sanctions, according to the Sydney-based Center for Aviation consultancy.