Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry announced on Wednesday that it had ordered Egyptian airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for three hours on Thursday. The directive followed Tehran’s announcement of planned military exercises.
The recommendation comes amid heightened regional tensions following the assassination of a Hamas leader in Tehran last week.
Egypt said the warning was part of a notice issued by Iran to all commercial airlines.
Restrictions on Iran’s airspace will be in place from 4:30 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. Thursday, according to the Egyptian ministry, with a similar warning also in place three hours earlier on Wednesday.
In addition, Britain has also asked its airlines to avoid Lebanese airspace amid growing fears of a possible wider conflict in the region. Britain’s advice to its airlines to avoid Lebanese airspace came hours after Egypt ordered all its airlines to avoid Iranian airspace for three hours early Thursday.
Many airlines around the world are revising their flight schedules to avoid Iranian and Lebanese airspace while canceling flights to Israel and Lebanon.
US-based United Airlines said on Wednesday that its flights to Tel Aviv, which were suspended on July 31 for security reasons, remained suspended.
British carriers do not currently fly to Lebanon, according to flight-tracking website Flightradar24.
Similarly, Egyptian airlines are already avoiding Iranian airspace. The new directive applies to all Egyptian carriers, including charter operators and other smaller airlines, said Mark Zee, founder of OPSGROUP, a membership organization that shares information about flight risks.
Egypt’s NOTAM, a safety alert issued to pilots, said the instruction would be in effect from 01:00 to 04:00 GMT on Thursday.
No flight plan will be accepted for overflying such territory,” the announcement said, referring to the three-hour deadline.
Egypt’s civil aviation ministry confirmed later on Wednesday that the announcement was aimed at reducing flight safety risks in light of a notification it had received from Iranian authorities.
