Major Airline Companies Suspend Flights Over Iran And Iraq

Airliners, on Wednesday, have barred flights from entering the Iranian and Iraqi air spaces after Iran fired scores of missiles on US bases in Iraq.

According to Air France's spokesperson to AFP, “As a precautionary measure and following news of airstrikes underway, Air France has decided to suspend until further notice all flights through Iranian and Iraqi airspace.”

Early morning on Wednesday, Iran targeted US military bases in Iraq where US troops were absent; this was a response to US's air strike in at the Baghdad airport that killed Iran's top commander Qaseem Soleimani last week Friday, of which, according to Iran's supreme leader is a “slap in the face.”

Iran's ballistic missile attack on US bases prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to halt the flight of air crafts registered in the US from entering the Iran, Iraq, and Gulf air spaces.

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These air spaces are necessary for flights going to the Asian continent from Europe, although alternative routes are available for airlines.

KLM's spokesman said, “Until further notice, KLM has no flights over Iranian or Iraqi airspace. All flights to different Southeast Asian destinations and other destinations in the Middle East will be flown through alternative routes.”

Lufthansa, the German carrier also followed suit, canceling flights to Tehran and restricting its airplanes from flying over Iran and Iraq until further notice.

"Operational reasons" were cited as reasons why Emirates Airline and FlyDubai, both UAE airline companies would be canceling all their flights into Baghdad.

Australia's Qantas also gave reasons why it would be suspending its flights into Iran and Iraq, and using the air spaces of the foregoing countries, “We’re adjusting our flight paths over the Middle East to avoid the airspace over Iraq and Iran until further notice,” the airline's spokesperson said in a statement.