June 22 (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency order on Thursday prohibiting U.S. air carriers from flying in Iran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman due to heightened tensions.
Some international airlines are taking precautions following the FAA order.
Here are some statements from non-U.S Airlines:
* Gulf Air said it was evaluating flight path changes and working with authorities on contingency plans should the situation escalate further.
* Etihad Airways, which was flying over the area earlier on Friday, said it had agreed “to change a number of the flight paths we operate to and from the Arabian Gulf” after close consultation with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority.
* Cathay Pacific said on Friday its flights will not fly in the airspace above the Strait of Hormuz and will review areas of concern to ensure all flight routes remain safe.
* Emirates Airline is re-routing all flights away from areas of possible conflict in the Gulf, a spokeswoman said on Friday.
* Emirates’ sister carrier flydubai said it has adjusted some of the existing flight paths in the region and will make further changes when necessary.
* British Airways said it would adhere to FAA guidance, avoiding Iranian airspace. It said flights will continue to operate using alternative routes.
* Netherlands flag carrier KLM was no longer flying over the Strait of Hormuz, a spokesman said on Friday.
* Australia’s Qantas said on Friday it was adjusting flight paths over the Middle East to avoid the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman until further notice.
* French flag-carrier Air France said it did not fly over the Strait of Hormuz and that it was in constant contact with the French and European civil aviation authorities to analyse any potential risks.
* A Norwegian Air spokesman said the carrier had no departures planned to fly over Iran on Friday “but we are monitoring the situation closely and will reroute if necessary.”
* Sweden’s SAS: A spokesman for the airline said it was following the situation closely although it did not fly in that territory.
* Singapore Airlines will take slightly longer routes to avoid the affected Strait of Hormuz area due to the ongoing tension, a spokesman said on Friday.
* German carrier Lufthansa said it has stopped flying over parts of Iran, but was still serving flights to Tehran.
* Malaysia Airlines said it had avoided the airspace over the Strait of Hormuz on its flights to and from London, Jeddah and Medina.
* Polish airline LOT said it decided to change routes to and from Singapore due to the tense situation over the Strait of Hormuz and in the Gulf of Oman.
(Compiled by Tommy Lund and Jagoda Darlak; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Richard Chang)
