EU aviation regulator urges airlines to avoid Iran airspace amid military tensio
BRUSSELS, Jan 15 — The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recommended that airlines avoid Iran's airspace due to high risks from military tensions and air defence systems.
The agency issued a bulletin on Friday citing unpredictable state responses and the presence of weapons as threats to civil aviation.
"The presence and possible use of a wide range of weapons and air-defence systems, combined with unpredictable state responses ... creates a high risk to civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels," EASA stated.
This advisory follows heightened regional tensions over Iran's crackdown on protests and threats of US intervention.
EASA warned that heightened Iranian air defence alerts increase the likelihood of misidentification of civilian aircraft.
Major European carriers like Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways continued avoiding the region on Thursday.
Iran had reopened its airspace on Wednesday after a near five-hour closure due to military concerns.
This caution recalls the January 2020 downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet by an Iranian missile, which killed 176 people.
Iranian authorities later attributed that tragedy to human error during a period of military tension with the US.