Airlines are avoiding Iranian and Lebanese airspace and canceling flights to Israel and Lebanon, as concerns grow over a possible conflict in the region after the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah this week.
Singapore Airlines stopped flying through Iranian airspace from early Friday morning and is using alternative routes, saying safety is its top priority, it told Reuters in a statement.
Taiwan’s EVA Air and China Airlines also appeared to be avoiding Iran airspace for flights to Amsterdam on Friday which previously had flown over Iran, Flightradar24 data showed.
The airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the route changes.
In a bulletin, OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information, advised traffic between Asia and Europe to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace, a day after sources told Reuters that top Iranian officials will meet the representatives of Iran’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss potential retaliation against Israel.
Many airlines, including US and European airlines, already avoid flying over Iran, especially since the reciprocal missile and drone attacks in April between Iran and Israel.
Singapore Airlines’ flight to London Heathrow early on Friday went north of Iran through Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, rather than crossing through Iran as it did the day before, Flightradar24 showed.
However, a significant number of airlines on Friday were still flying over Iran, including United Arab Emirates carriers Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai, as well as Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.
Over the past two days, Air India, Germany’s Lufthansa Group, US carriers United Airlines and Delta Air, and Italy’s ITA Airways said they had suspended flights to Tel Aviv.
Airlines this week have also been canceling and delaying flights to the Lebanese capital Beirut after a strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Saturday. Israel has blamed the attack on Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah, which denied involvement.
Canada on Thursday issued a notice to Canadian aircraft to avoid Lebanese airspace for one month due to the risk to aviation from military activity.
Britain has for the past month advised pilots of potential risk from anti-aircraft weaponry and military activity in Lebanon’s airspace.
Should an all-out war break out in the Middle East, OpsGroup said civil aviation will likely face the risk of drones and missiles crossing airways, as well as the increased risk of GPS spoofing — a growing phenomena around Lebanon and Israel where militaries and other actors broadcast signals that trick a plane’s GPS system into thinking it is somewhere it is not. (Writing by Lisa Barrington; editing by Miral Fahmy and Ros Russell)
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Airlines avoid some Mideast airspace, cancel Israel flights as tensions mount
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Airlines avoid some Mideast airspace, cancel Israel flights as tensions mount
- The airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the route changes
- Britain has for the past month advised pilots of potential risk from anti-aircraft weaponry and military activity
Iran FM in Geneva for second round of US talks
GENEVA: Iran’s foreign minister has arrived in Geneva ahead of a second round of negotiations with the United States, Iranian state television said Monday, as Washington keeps up pressure on the Islamic republic.
According to Tehran, “indirect” Iran-US nuclear talks mediated by Oman will be held on Tuesday, although Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed including Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies.
Tehran and Washington restarted negotiations this month after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June.
Considerable uncertainty surrounds the fate of Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kilogrammes of 60-percent enriched uranium that was last seen by nuclear watchdog inspectors in June.
“The foreign minister has arrived in Geneva at the head of a diplomatic and expert delegation to take part in the second round of nuclear negotiation,” Iran’s state-run IRIB wrote on its Telegram channel.
During his visit to Geneva, Abbas Araghchi is expected to hold talks with his Swiss and Omani counterparts as well as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, and other international officials, Iran’s foreign ministry said.
Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House confirmed on Sunday.
The latest talks follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran, first over Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, and then more recently over the country’s nuclear program.
The West fears the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.
On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen,” as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifts sanctions that have crippled the Islamic republic’s economy.
“If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement,” said Majid Takht-Ravanchi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any deal must involve the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran as well as Tehran’s ability to enrich more.
“There should be no enrichment capability... dismantle the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said during a speech in Jerusalem.
- ‘Viable’ deal -
On February 6, Araghchi led the Iranian delegation in indirect talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Muscat.
Switzerland has played a key role in diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States for decades.
It has represented US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.
Iranian deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said Tehran was seeking a deal with the United States that would generate economic benefits for both countries, particularly in sectors such as aviation, mining and oil and gas, the Fars news agency reported.
“For the agreement to be viable, it is essential that the United States also be able to benefit from it in areas with strong and rapid economic return potential,” he was quoted as saying.
According to Tehran, “indirect” Iran-US nuclear talks mediated by Oman will be held on Tuesday, although Washington has previously pushed for other topics to be discussed including Iran’s ballistic missiles and support for regional proxies.
Tehran and Washington restarted negotiations this month after previous talks collapsed when Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran last June.
Considerable uncertainty surrounds the fate of Iran’s stockpile of more than 400 kilogrammes of 60-percent enriched uranium that was last seen by nuclear watchdog inspectors in June.
“The foreign minister has arrived in Geneva at the head of a diplomatic and expert delegation to take part in the second round of nuclear negotiation,” Iran’s state-run IRIB wrote on its Telegram channel.
During his visit to Geneva, Abbas Araghchi is expected to hold talks with his Swiss and Omani counterparts as well as the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, and other international officials, Iran’s foreign ministry said.
Washington has dispatched Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, the White House confirmed on Sunday.
The latest talks follow repeated threats from Trump of military action against Tehran, first over Iran’s deadly crackdown on anti-government protests, and then more recently over the country’s nuclear program.
The West fears the program is aimed at making a bomb, which Tehran denies.
On Friday, Trump said a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen,” as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East to ratchet up military pressure.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister told the BBC that Tehran would consider compromises on its uranium stockpile if Washington lifts sanctions that have crippled the Islamic republic’s economy.
“If we see the sincerity on their (American) part, I am sure we will be on a road to have an agreement,” said Majid Takht-Ravanchi.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that any deal must involve the removal of all enriched uranium from Iran as well as Tehran’s ability to enrich more.
“There should be no enrichment capability... dismantle the equipment and the infrastructure that allows you to enrich in the first place,” he said during a speech in Jerusalem.
- ‘Viable’ deal -
On February 6, Araghchi led the Iranian delegation in indirect talks with Witkoff and Kushner in Muscat.
Switzerland has played a key role in diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States for decades.
It has represented US interests in Iran since Washington broke off relations with Tehran after the 1980 hostage crisis, a year after the Iranian revolution.
Iranian deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy Hamid Ghanbari said Tehran was seeking a deal with the United States that would generate economic benefits for both countries, particularly in sectors such as aviation, mining and oil and gas, the Fars news agency reported.
“For the agreement to be viable, it is essential that the United States also be able to benefit from it in areas with strong and rapid economic return potential,” he was quoted as saying.
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