14-01-2020
Major CEP carriers are adapting their air operations in the Middle East in the light of a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) banning US carriers from flying in certain areas of the region's airspace following a missile attack last week on US-led forces in Iraq.
The FAA said it issued the airspace ban “due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to US civil aviation operations.”
The NOTAM is said to prohibit US aircraft and pilots from flying in airspace in Iran, Iraq (Baghdad airspace region), the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Last week, major international airlines announced they were cancelling and re-routing flights in the Middle East after Iran's missile attack on two Iraqi military bases that house US forces. Air France, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and Taiwan's EVA Air said they were avoiding the airspace above Iran and Iraq.
Commenting on the airspace ban, a UPS spokesperson told CEP-Research: “UPS remains committed to safely serving our customers in the Middle East and the companies they work with around the world. As a result of the FAA’s notification of airspace closures to American air carriers, we have implemented contingency plans to maintain the same high level of service that our customers expect.”