Airlines Advised to Avoid Flying Over Iran on Thursday

The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, on Feb. 3, 2023. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)

Airlines operating international flights are being told to steer clear of Iranian airspace as tensions rise over a potential escalation between Iran and Israel.

In a safety notice issued Aug. 7, Egypt instructed all of its airlines to avoid flying above the Iranian capital of Tehran the next day from 1 a.m. until 4 a.m. UTC.

“All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran FIR (Flight Information Region),” read the notice.

“No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory,” it continued, referring to the three-hour period provided. No further details were given about the reason for the warning.

The notice was issued at the same time Israel is on a high military alert for a potential Iranian attack following the death of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed last week in a targeted explosion while at a guest house in Tehran.

Hamas, an Iran-backed terrorist group, accused Israel of carrying out the strike. Iran also blamed Israel for the Tehran blast, with its foreign ministry claiming that the United States bears shared responsibility as a staunch ally of Israel.

Israel has so far neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh’s killing.

The looming threat of an attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies has prompted several major airlines to adjust their services to the Middle East.

Germany’s Lufthansa said Aug. 7 that it is suspending all flights to Tehran, Beirut, Amman, and Erbil, until Aug. 13. The Frankfurt-based company also said its airplanes will be avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace until that date.

In an earlier notice, Lufthansa said it was suspending flights to Tel Aviv, Beirut, and Tehran through Aug. 12.

Delta, which is still recovering from a worldwide cyber outage, announced Aug. 5 that it has “paused” flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Tel Aviv until the end of the month. It also extended a suspension of services to Tehran, Beirut, Amman, and Erbil to the same date.

Some of Europe’s biggest low-cost carriers have also joined the wave of flight cancellations.

EasyJet, a British budget airline, announced Aug. 6 that it will not return to Israel until March 29, 2025. It suspended its flights to Israel following Iran’s massive rocket and drone attack in April, and has not resumed flights since.

Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe, has suspended flights to Israel until Aug. 10.

Meanwhile, Israel’s transportation ministry maintains that the country’s airspace is safe. Israeli airlines El Al, Israir, and Arkia have promised to continue to operate their flights as usual and add more flights to help Israeli citizens stuck abroad get home.

“The new flights will be offered at a uniform price for passengers whose flights with other airlines were canceled and who wish to fly one-way to Israel,” El Al said in a statement announcing the decision to increase services to and from Tel Aviv.