European airlines join Emirates in avoiding Iraqi airspace for safety

European airlines and Dubai-based Emirates Airline are rerouting flights over Iraq as a security precaution amid fears that militants with the Islamic State group have weapons capable of shooting down planes, despite Iraq saying its skies are safe.

A number of European carriers, including Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Air France, said they had devised alternative flight plans for their planes.

Air France detected a "potential threat" on July 24 which triggered the airline's decision, said Eric Prevot, a spokesman for Air France's flight operations centre.

The decisions come after a Malaysia Airlines flight crashed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 people on board. US and Ukrainian officials say it was shot down by a missile from rebel territory, most likely by mistake.

The Ukraine crash has many in the aviation industry reconsidering flight paths as hotspots from West Africa to Central Asia could potentially put passengers at risk.

Though experts say the skies are largely safe, there is a danger of militants using sophisticated weapons.