Turmoil in Iraq, Ukraine Increases Traffic in Iranian Air Corridor
The number of foreign airliners using the Iranian air corridor has considerably increased in recent days and registered a new record yesterday, a senior aviation official announced on Monday.
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"The number of foreign flights passing through Iran's airspace hit a record high yesterday after the figures showed a number of 631 flights," Managing Director of the Iranian Airports Company Mohammad Ali Ilkhani told reporters today.
He said after the shooting down of the Malaysian Airliner MH17 over the Ukrainian airspace last month and given the turmoil caused by the terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in parts of Iraq, now foreign airlines have shifted their flying route to Iran as a safe corridor.
Last month Iran announced preparedness to open its airspace to passing flights after Ukraine closed its airspace following the Malaysian plane's crash.
Deputy Head of Flight Standards of Civil Aviation Organization of Iran Hamid Habibi voiced the country's readiness to admit some flights passing through the Iranian airspace.
Following the Malaysian plane's crash in Ukraine and closing the country's airspace, he declared Iran's readiness to admit passing flights which intend to change their route and use Iran's aerial space.
A Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing-777 with over 290 people on board crashed in Ukraine, close to the border with Russia, on July 17.
The shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane occurred in rebel-controlled Eastern Ukraine by unknown persons.
According to reports, the ill-fated Flight MH17 which originated from Amsterdam, Netherlands, en route Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, had about 193 Dutch; 43 Malaysians, including 15 crew members; 27 Australians; 12 Indonesians; 10 Britons; four Germans; four Belgians; three Filipinos and one national each from United States, Canada and New Zealand, on board.
On Saturday, Australian airline, the Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS), announced that it has changed its flight path from Iraq to Iran.
QANTAS declared that it has stopped its flights using Iraqi airspace in the wake of the MH17 disaster in Ukraine to avoid using the skies over conflict regions, adding that it preferred Iran's airspace for its regular flights.
A QANTAS spokesman said the airline has closely monitored flight paths over conflict zones since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine two weeks ago.
QANTAS stopped flying over war-stricken Iraq after the US Federal Aviation Administration raised the minimum ceiling for flights from 20,000ft to 30,000ft. /SR
