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.