Georgia-Iran flights continue despite tension
Major airlines have been cancelling or diverting flights from Iranian and Iraqi space after Iran fired ballistic missiles at US airbases in Iraq earlier today. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Georgia-Iran flights are continuing without cancellation nor changes to schedule, the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA) told Agenda.ge.
Major airlines have been cancelling or diverting flights from Iranian and Iraqi space after Iran fired ballistic missiles at US airbases in Iraq earlier today, a response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian commander, Iranian officials said.
Iranian Taban Airlines and Qeshm Air carry out flights on the route Tehran-Tbilisi-Tehran. Qeshm Air offers flights six times a week, while Taban Airlines carries out flights every day. Also, Taban Airlines offers flights on the route Tehran-Batumi-Tehran twice a week.
We cannot ban Iranian airline companies from flying. We can ban our airlines from flying if it is needed. Our companies do not carry out regular flights [to Tehran] but if they use Iranian airspace, they can change the route on their own”, says the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency.
The US Federal Aviation Administration banned US airlines from carrying out flights in the airspace of Iraq, Iran, the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
#FAA Statement: #NOTAMs issued outlining flight restrictions that prohibit U.S. civil aviation operators from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. pic.twitter.com/kJEbpPddp3
— The FAA (@FAANews) January 8, 2020
Also, Air France decided not to carry out flights through Iranian and Iraqi airspace.
Until further notice, KLM has no flights over Iranian or Iraqi airspace. All flights to different Southeast Asian destinations and other destinations in the Middle East will be flown through alternative routes,” says Dutch airline KLM.
German airline Lufthansa also cancelled its daily flights to Tehran and suspended overflights of Iran and Iraq.
Australian Qantas, Vietnam Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines have also diverted flights from Iranian airspace.
Georgia is ‘deeply saddened’ by the crash of a Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 which killed more than 170 people earlier today in Iran. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili wrote that it is an “unspeakable tragedy.” The plane of the Ukraine International Airlines is reported to crash shortly after take-off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran.
The US Embassy in Georgia warns its citizens being abroad about the heightened tension in the Middle East.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani has condemned the “recent violence, provocative attack” on the United States Embassy in Baghdad. He also noted that "it is time for diplomacy to de-escalate and reduce tensions".
Iranian airline Iran Air has launched scheduled operations from Iran’s capital of Tehran to Georgia’s capital of Tbilisi, announces Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency.
Many international airlines have started using Georgian airspace instead of Iran due to heightened tension in the Middle East, reports Flightradar24.
The Georgian Civil Aviation Agency urges Georgian air companies to avoid using Iraqi and Iranian airspace because of the high risks related to the current tension in the region, announced the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency (GCAA) earlier today.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Georgia earlier today. Georgian Deputy FM Aleksandre Khvtisiashvili welcomed Javad Zarif at Tbilisi International Airport.