Airlines Avoid Persian Gulf After Downed Drone
21 6월 2019 - 10:51PM
Dow Jones News
By Rory Jones in Dubai and Robert Wall in Paris
Airlines rerouted flights Friday to avoid airspace over the
Persian Gulf after Iran shot down an American military drone,
disrupting air travel around one of the world's busiest
transportation hubs.
United Continental Holdings Inc. said it would suspend flights
between New York and India that travel over the region, after the
Federal Aviation Administration banned U.S. aircraft from operating
over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Singapore Airlines
Ltd., British Airways, Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG and KLM
Royal Dutch Airlines all said Friday they were avoiding the
area.
Iran's shootdown of the airliner-sized drone Thursday raised
fears for civilian aircraft that fly through the heavily trafficked
region. Air travel between the U.S., Asia and Europe is connected
via major airports in Dubai, the world's biggest hub for
international flights, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
and the Qatari capital, Doha.
The U.S. military said Iran shot the highflying drone down in
international airspace, and the FAA said the nearest civil aircraft
was flying within 45 nautical miles from the drone when it was hit.
Iran said the drone was over Iranian airspace and crashed in the
Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.
Heightening the worries: The U.S. drew up plans for a
retaliatory military strike on Iran on Thursday night, though
President Trump called it off.
The FAA said it "remains concerned about the escalation of
tension and military activity within close proximity to high volume
civil air routes, " as well as "Iran's willingness to use
long-range [surface-to-air missiles] in international airspace with
little to no warning."
Dubai-based Emirates Airline, one of the world's largest
carriers, said it had "taken precautionary measures including
rerouting all flights away from areas of possible conflict."
Flights from its Dubai base often pass through Iranian airspace.
The carrier said the changes had slightly affected timing of some
flights and that it was ready to make more adjustments if
necessary.
Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said it was carefully monitoring the
situation and would decide on further action after evaluating the
FAA directive. The region's other major carrier, Qatar Airways,
didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Air-safety regulators and airlines have become increasingly
careful about flights near conflict zones in the wake of the
downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine almost
five years ago. International prosecutors this week charged four
suspects -- including three Russians -- with murder after they
concluded a Russian missile system was used to down the Boeing Co.
777 jetliner, killing 298 on board.
Malaysia Airlines said it was avoiding the contested airspace
for its flights to London, as well as those bound for Jeddah and
Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Middle Eastern airlines have also had to repeatedly adjust their
routes in recent years because of conflict and political
infighting. Carriers have at times been forced to avoid Syrian,
Yemeni and Iraqi airspace. In 2017, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E.
also cut ties with neighboring Qatar and refused the tiny Gulf
nation access to their airspace.
This year, a border skirmish between India and Pakistan in which
an Indian warplane was shot down led to airspace closures there,
forcing airlines to fly longer routes to avoid the area.
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran also have led to an aviation
tragedy. In 1988, the U.S. Navy's Vincennes warship downed Iran Air
Flight 655 with an air-defense missile. U.S. officials said they
mistook the Airbus SE A300 airliner for a combat plane they feared
would attack the ship. All 290 people on the passenger plane
died.
Airlines have discretion to plan flight routes along airways
they think are safe, but rely on governments to issue warnings if
they deem airspace unsafe.
In the wake of the Malaysia Airlines shootdown, the United
Nations' air safety agency set up a database to help alert airlines
about conflict zones that could endanger commercial flights.
Airlines currently face conflict related airspace restrictions in
Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and other locations.
Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones@wsj.com and Robert Wall at
robert.wall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2019 09:36 ET (13:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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