New Delhi. Air India flights are avoiding Iranian airspace as a precautionary measure due to rising tensions in West Asia following Iran’s threat of retaliation for the alleged Israeli attack on the Iranian Embassy in the Syrian capital Damascus in early April. According to Flightradar, an Air India flight from New Delhi to London on Saturday morning took a longer route to avoid Iranian airspace.
Air India has joined Lufthansa and Qantas to avoid Iranian airspace amid rising tensions in the region. Australian carrier Qantas said on Saturday it would redirect its long-haul flights between Perth and London to avoid Iranian airspace. “If there are any changes to passengers’ bookings, we will contact them directly,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
German airline Lufthansa and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines also rerouted their flights and extended a suspension on flights to and from Tehran, as Iran threatened Israel with retaliation and US officials told news agencies. Told that Israel could be attacked at any time. A Lufthansa spokesperson said on Friday, “Due to the current situation, Lufthansa is suspending its flights from Tehran until Thursday, April 18. The airline is no longer even using Iranian airspace.”
The US said on Friday that the Iranian threat to Israel still remains high and its President Joe Biden asked arch foe Tehran to refrain from attacking its strongest ally in the region. He said that he expected that Iran could attack Israel at any time in response to the attack in Syria.
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Tags: air india, Iran, Israel
FIRST PUBLISHED: April 13, 2024, 19:06 IST