For days there has been speculation about a possible Iranian attack on Israel. Egypt has now issued a highly unusual flight instruction – and refers to announcements from Iran.
Egypt has banned its airlines from flying over the Iranian capital Tehran overnight into Thursday. “All Egyptian airlines should avoid flights over Tehran,” says a safety notice from the civil aviation authority in Cairo. Plans for flights over this area have been rejected. The order is in effect for three hours from 3 a.m. on Thursday (CEST).
Such a warning from Egypt was “very unusual,” wrote the OPS Group, an organization that informs its members about risks and changes in international air traffic. “It is possible that this is an indication of an Iranian response to Israel,” the group wrote, referring to a possible impending attack that has been speculated about for days. In such a case, there could be many disruptions in air traffic.
Egypt’s civil aviation authority referred in a statement to a warning from Iranian authorities that military exercises were planned in the country at around the same time. The aim of the Egyptian authority’s warning was to protect passengers and air traffic.
Jordan had previously prepared aircraft in its airspace for a possible Iranian attack on Israel. All incoming aircraft were temporarily asked to be filled up with fuel for an additional 45 minutes of flight. An Iranian attack on Israel could also take place in the skies over Jordan, as happened in April.
Following the killing of Hamas foreign chief Ismail Haniya in Iran and the killing of a military commander of the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, the danger of a major war in the Middle East has increased significantly. Iran, Hezbollah and the Islamist Hamas have announced retaliation against Israel.
The information office at the international airport in Tehran described the situation in Iranian airspace as normal. Only a few airlines, such as Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, had temporarily suspended their flight operations to Tehran due to a possible military conflict with Israel. Turkish Airlines had stopped night flights.
