Overview
- The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has formally told carriers to avoid flying over Iran, Iraq and Lebanon and to apply heightened caution across several Gulf states.
- EASA singled out the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Israel for closer vigilance because sudden security shifts could affect routes nearby.
- The agency warned that airspace violations and military activity remain possible despite recent diplomacy and that those hazards could pose direct threats to civil aviation.
- Airlines are expected to keep rerouting flights away from the advised areas, a move that will raise flight times, fuel use, scheduling disruptions and operating costs for passengers and carriers.
- EASA urged carriers to update risk assessments, maintain contingency plans and keep monitoring the situation, with regulators saying continued guidance and further advisories are likely while the security picture stays fluid.