SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines (SIA) and budget carrier Scoot have stopped using Iranian airspace since 1.30am on Friday (Aug 2), an SIA spokesperson said.
This comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East following an assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on July 31 in Iran.
In response to queries, the spokesperson said the affected SIA and Scoot flights tapped alternative flight paths.
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East, and adjust our flight paths as needed,” added the spokesperson. No flights have been cancelled.
“The SIA Group’s top priority is the safety of our customers and staff.”
Reuters reported that OpsGroup, a membership-based organisation that shares flight risk information, advised in a bulletin for traffic between Asia and Europe to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace.
The note came a day after sources told Reuters that top Iranian officials will meet representatives of the nation’s regional allies from Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen to discuss potential retaliation against Israel.
According to Reuters, SIA’s flight to Heathrow in London early on Aug 2 went north of Iran through Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan, rather than crossing Iran as it did the day before, flight tracking site Flightradar24 showed.
However, a significant number of airlines on Aug 2 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, American carriers United Airlines and Delta Air, and Italy’s ITA Airways said they had suspended flights to Tel Aviv in Israel.
SIA and Scoot recently resumed flights over Iranian airspace on June 27.
The two airlines initially stopped flying over Iran from April 13, after the country launched its first direct attack on Israeli territory that day.
Flights which were affected included SIA flights between Singapore and 14 destinations – namely Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, New York (JFK), New York (Newark), Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome and Zurich – as well as Scoot-operated flights between Singapore and Athens.
In 2022, SIA suspended all flights between Singapore and Moscow due to “operational reasons”, amid growing pressure on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
And in 2016, SIA stopped all flights over Ukraine after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in the country’s eastern region. - The Straits Times/ANN
