Several countries announced a ban on civil aviation flights over Iraq and Iran in the wake of Iran's missile attack on two bases hosting American forces in Iraq.

United State
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it would prohibit American civil aviation companies from flying in the airspace of Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman, and the waters separating Saudi Arabia from Iran.

The administration attributed the ban to "heightened military activities and escalating political tensions in the Middle East."

Prior to this ban, the agency had already prohibited American airlines from flying at a height of less than 26,000 feet over Iraq, and flying in part of Iranian airspace over the Persian Gulf and the Sea of ​​Oman, after Iran shot down a US march plane at a high altitude in June / Last June.

Foreign airlines and their national regulatory agencies usually take American notices into account when deciding their flight destinations.

Canada
Transport Canada said it has diverted its flights and is in close contact with the US Federal Aviation Administration to monitor the situation in the Middle East.

France
Air France has announced the suspension of all its flights in Iranian and Iraqi airspace, and a company spokesman said, "As a precaution and immediately after the announcement of the missile strikes, Air France decided to suspend all its flights in Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice."

Germany
Lufthansa, the largest German airline, has announced the cancellation of its daily flight between Frankfurt and Tehran, but it has returned and has said it will resume the flight tomorrow, Thursday.

The company added that Tehran Airport is open, and there are no security restrictions on approaching it or the surrounding areas.

Lufthansa said that the flights of its group of airlines will continue to fly around the Iranian and Iraqi airspace. It had announced earlier that it would cancel its scheduled trip to Erbil in the Kurdistan region of Iraq on Saturday.

Russia
Russian news agencies said that the Russian Federal Transport Agency (Rosaviazia) asked national airlines to avoid flying over the airspace of Iraq, Iran, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

"Given the presence of information regarding security risks based on international civil aviation flights, Russia recommends not to use airspace over Iran, Iraq, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in Russian civil aviation flights, including transit flights," a statement said.

Egypt
Before the Iranian missile attack, the Ministry of Civil Aviation in Egypt had announced the suspension of EgyptAir's flights to Baghdad, from Wednesday to Friday "in order to preserve the safety of passengers and aircraft due to the current conditions and the instability of security conditions in Iraq."

The Ministry called on EgyptAir customers to review and amend their reservations.

UAE
Emirates Airlines and flydubai said their flights to the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, were canceled "for operational reasons".

Emirates Airlines said in a statement that "Emirates Airlines 943 flights from Dubai to Baghdad, and 944 from Baghdad to Dubai, were canceled on January 8th."

"We are following developments closely and we are in close contact with the relevant government authorities," she added, noting that they will take "more operational adjustments if necessary."

For its part, flydubai low-cost airline announced that it had canceled its scheduled flight to Baghdad on Wednesday, but it kept its flights to Basra and Najaf in Iraq.

East Asia
Singapore Airlines decided to change the route of its flights that pass over Iranian airspace, and Malaysia Airlines took a similar step and diverted its flight path between London, Jeddah and Medina to avoid Iranian airspace as well.

Vietnam Airlines announced that its flights towards Europe and from it will avoid "potential areas of instability" in the Middle East, knowing that the usual routes for these flights do not pass in Iranian or Iraqi airspace.

Australian airline Qantas said that the flight between Perth and London will fly over Asia instead of the Middle East and be delayed forty minutes.

Tensions have escalated in the Middle East after the killing of a prominent Iranian military commander, Qassem Soleimani, in a US raid near Baghdad airport.

In the context, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced on Tuesday that it has employed a global aviation team to support effective coordination and communication between airlines and countries as tensions rise in the Middle East.

Airlines and the United Nations aviation agency have begun to monitor airspace over Iran and Iraq.

Although several airlines announced avoiding the Iranian and Iraqi airspace, some airlines still operate flights to and from both countries. The airspace of Iran and Iraq is of strategic importance to commercial aviation in the Middle East.