EU Aviation Safety Agency Recommends Flights Over Iraq Be Avoided Amid US-Iran Tensions

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th January, 2020) The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) told Sputnik on Wednesday it had recommended that all commercial flights over Iraq's airspace be suspended or diverted due to increased tensions between the United States and Iran.

"In the light of recent events in the middle East, EASA has contacted European Union National Aviation Authorities to recommend that commercial flight operations over Iraqi airspace be avoided, as a precautionary measure. Some Member States and countries have already released information to this effect to their airlines and several airlines have responded to the risk by adjusting their routings," Janet Northcote, EASA's head of communications, said.

Northcote added that this was an initial recommendation based on the available information.

"In parallel, EASA is working with the EU Commission and the National Authorities to perform a full assessment of the situation to determine the measures required to ensure the safety of aviation in the region.

We continue to monitor the situation closely," the official said.

Earlier in the day, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) started a revenge operation in response to Washington's killing of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in Iraq. According to the Iraqi military, about 22 missiles struck the country, with 17 of them hitting the US Ain Al Asad airbase and five attacked the Iraqi city of Erbil, targeting the US-led coalition headquarters. According to Iranian media reports, 80 US servicemen were killed and around 200 others were injured, while the United States reported no casualties at all.

Ukraine International Airlines' (UIA) Boeing 737-800 plane crashed on Wednesday morning near Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport, killing all 176 people on board. It was flying to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.