China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) yesterday said that they would avoid flying over Iraq and Iran for safety’s sake, after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banned US carriers from the area following Iranian missile attacks yesterday on Iraqi bases housing US troops.
The FAA said it was barring US pilots and carriers from flying in areas of Iraqi, Iranian and some Persian Gulf airspace.
Although the FAA ban does not affect Taiwanese airlines, it is considered advice, the carriers said.
China Airlines has no passenger planes that fly in the airspace over Iraq and Iran, but some of its cargo flights from the Middle East and India to Europe do, it said in a statement.
It would reroute those cargo flights over Turkmenistan or Saudi Arabia, it said, adding that it would continue adjusting the routes depending on tensions between the US and Iran.
EVA said that none of its passenger jets fly over Iraq, but some flights from Asia and Europe do fly over Iran.
As of 6am yesterday, those flights were rerouted to fly over Turkmenistan, it said.
The rerouting would add seven to eight minutes to the flights, which should be acceptable to passengers, it added.
“Most of our flights from Bangkok to European cities and London fly over Iranian airspace, while most of our direct flights from Taipei to Europe and London skip the airspace,” EVA deputy spokesman Eric Lin (林司忠) told the Taipei Times by telephone.
On average, 10 to 15 flights per week would be rerouted, Lin said, adding that none of its five cargo aircraft fly over either nation.
EVA would monitor the situation closely and would adjust its routes as necessary, he said.
The Taiwanese companies were among several commercial airlines rerouting flights crossing the Middle East.
Australia’s Qantas Airways Ltd said it was altering its London to Perth routes to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice, which would mean those flights would have to carry fewer passengers and more fuel to remain in the air for an extra 40 to 50 minutes.
Singapore Airlines Ltd and Malaysia Airlines Bhd said that their flights to Europe would be rerouted to avoid Iran, while India and Russia also issued recommendations for their airlines to avoid Iranian, Iraqi and Persian Gulf airspace.
Additional reporting by AP
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