Qantas stops flying over Iraq, switches to Iranian airspace

PETALING JAYA: Australia's flag carrier Quantas announced on Saturday that it would be avoiding Iraqi airspace following a decision by America's Federal Aviation Administration to raise the minimum ceiling for flights over Iraq from 20,000ft to 30,000ft.

It was reported by The Australian that Quantas would be flying over Iran instead, adding 10 minutes of flying time to its Dubai-London service, with a Qantas spokesman saying the airline had been closely monitoring the situation, particularly after the downing of Malaysia Airlines MH17 over Ukraine.