FAA bans US airlines flying over Iraq, Iran and Gulf after missile attacks

Agency warns of the ‘potential for miscalculation or misidentification’ amid heightened tensions between the US and Iran

Separately, Singapore Airlines said it would divert its flights to Europe in the wake of the attacks

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The airspace over Iraq and Iran earlier Wednesday, January 8, 2020. Photo: FlightRadar24

Published: 10:35am, 8 Jan 2020Updated: 10:05pm, 8 Jan 2020

The US Federal Aviation Administration said it would ban US carriers from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia after Iran launched a missile attack on US-led forces in Iraq.

Several foreign airlines said they would now avoid flying over the affected areas.

Tehran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian territory against at least two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition personnel, the US military said on Tuesday.

The FAA said it issued the airspace ban “due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations”.

Hours later a Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 170 people crashed on take-off at Imam Khomeini International Airport in Iran, killing all aboard. Iran state TV said the crash was suspected to have been caused by mechanical issues. It did not elaborate.