SINGAPORE: Several Asian carriers, including Singapore Airlines (SIA), have stopped flying over Iranian airspace as fears grow over an escalation in tensions in the Middle East.
In response to CNA’s queries, SIA said its flights, as well as those by Scoot, its low-cost unit, have stopped flying over Iranian airspace and started using alternative routes.
This came into effect on Friday (Aug 2) at 1.30am.
“All SIA flights operating between Singapore and Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, New York (JFK), New York (Newark), Manchester, Milan, Munich, Paris, Rome, and Zurich, as well as all Scoot flights operating between Singapore and Athens, are affected,” said SIA.
No flights have been cancelled, it added.
The rerouting may result in “slightly longer than usual” travel times for some flights, said the carrier.
“SIA will be assisting affected customers to re-accommodate them on alternative flights, should there be a misconnection due to an extended flight time.”
“We will continue to closely monitor the situation in the Middle East, and adjust our flight paths as needed.”
SIA only resumed flying over Iranian airspace on Jun 27, having previously stopped doing so for more than two months as a “precautionary measure”.
SIA’s earlier decision to bypass Iran came after Iran vowed retaliation over a presumed Israeli air strike on Apr 1.