New Delhi: Hours after a Ukrainian plane with 176 people on-board crashed near Tehran in Iran, aviation regulator DGCA asked Indian airlines companies to take all precautions in the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Gulf of Oman and waters of the Persian Gulf, and reroute their flights to ensure safety of passengers.
The security situation in the Middle East region is also tense because of Iran’s missile strikes Wednesday against two US military bases in Iraq.
A senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Wednesday evening, “In view of the impending tension in the Middle East, all air operators are directed to take appropriate precautionary measures including rerouting of their flights in order to ensure complete safety of passengers.”
Air India announced Wednesday that it is temporarily rerouting its flights and that of its subsidiary Air India Express which use Iranian airspace.
US Federal Aviation Administration has also asked all American airlines to stop operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman due to ‘events in Middle East’.
IndiGo does not operate any flights over Iranian and Iraqi airspace hence it does not expect its flights to the Middle-East or Turkey to be impacted.
“The routes to Gulf operate through Oman, Saudi Arabia and Persian Gulf, while the routes to Turkey fly over the northern routes over the Caspian Sea and head directly from there to Istanbul. Currently, our flights are operating as per normal schedule,” IndiGo said in a statement.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and in case of a contingency, there might be slight time changes in our operations, which will be proactively communicated to our passengers through our regular channels,” the company added.
The Indian government has also issued a travel advisory, asking citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iraq in view of the prevailing situation in the Gulf country.
“In view of the prevailing situation in Iraq, Indian nationals are advised to avoid all non-essential travel to Iraq until further notification,” the advisory by the Ministry of External Affairs said.
It said Indian nationals residing in Iraq are advised to be alert and may avoid travel within Iraq.
PTI