Several major airlines announced today, Wednesday, to divert their flights to avoid passing through the airspace of Iraq and Iran after the US Federal Aviation Administration banned US civil aviation companies from flying in the region after an Iranian missile attack on the US-led forces in Iraq.

The Aviation Administration attributed the ban, which also includes the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia, to "the heightened military activities and escalating political tensions in the Middle East, which could endanger US civil aviation operations."

According to Flight Radar 24 data, several non-American airlines were operating flights over parts of Iraq and Iran at the time. While the US aviation administration ban does not directly concern them, foreign airlines and their national regulatory agencies usually take U.S. notices into account when deciding their flight destinations.

Transport Canada said it is in close contact with the US Federal Aviation Administration to follow up on the situation in the Middle East, adding that Air Canada is diverting

The Indian Aviation Authority has not yet issued formal instructions to the airlines, but an official said it had held meetings with the parties concerned and appealed to them to exercise caution and take preventive measures.

Singapore Airlines said after the attack on the two American bases in Iraq it would divert all its flights away from Iranian airspace.

Malaysia Airlines also announced that its flights do not fly over Iraqi airspace and that it will divert flights to avoid Iranian airspace after the attack.

Taiwan's China Airlines has announced it will not fly over Iran and Iraq due to the tension.

Australian airline Qantas said it was adjusting its flight routes to avoid flying over the airspace of both Iraqi and Iranian until further notice, adding up to 50 minutes of flight time between Perth and London.

Emirates and flydubai canceled a return trip to Baghdad on Wednesday. The two companies said they would make further changes if needed.

The Korean Air and its Thai counterpart announced that they avoided flying in the airspace of Iran and Iraq even before the attack on American forces.

The OSS Group, which advises airlines on security, said the new embargo imposed by the US government was "significant", especially since airspace over the entire water in the region is no longer available.

"Flights going to and from major airports in the region, such as Dubai, will now need to pass through Saudi airspace," she wrote on her website.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Tuesday that it had operated a global aviation team to support "effective coordination and communication" between airlines and countries as tensions escalated in the Middle East after Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, was killed in an air strike by a US drone.