Flight tracking data indicates that a London-bound Air India flight took a significantly longer route on Saturday in order to avoid Iranian airspace. According to an NDTV report quoting sources, the carrier may now take take up to 45 minutes longer to arrive at destinations in Europe. However the rising tensions will not affect flights to the Middle East as they are south of Iranian airspace. Air India had restarted flights to Tel Aviv in early March after a nearly five month hiatus amid the Gaza war.
Meanwhile German airline Lufthansa extended its ongoing suspension on flights to and from Tehran — in place since April 6. The company also said that flights to and from Amman will be operated as “day flights" so crews can return to Frankfurt without spending a night in the Jordanian capital.
The carrier and its subsidiary Austrian Airlines have said that their planes will no longer use Iranian airspace. The latter cited “the current situation in the Middle East" in an official statement. Iran is primarily connected via Turkish and Middle Eastern airlines with Lufthansa and its subsidiary as the only Western carriers currently serving Tehran.
“Due to the current situation, Lufthansa is suspending its flights to and from Tehran up to and including Thursday, 18 April. The airline is also no longer using Iranian airspace," a company spokesperson said on Friday.
Qantas Airways has also temporarily re-routed its services in order to avoid airspace in the Middle East. The QF9 flight from Perth to London will now fly via Singapore for a fuel stop for the next few days as the company monitors the situation. A Qantas spokesperson confirmed that the QF10 return flight (as well as other paths out of London) remain unaffected
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will no longer fly over Israel and Iran. Press agency ANP cited a spokesperson from the Dutch Arm of Air France-KLM to add that the carrier would continue flying to Tel Aviv (on Israel's Mediterranean coast).
KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said the move was a precaution, referring to the rising tensions between Iran and Israel, but added that it would continue flying to Tel Aviv, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
