Cirium reveals impact of Irani/Iraqi airspace diversions

Analysis by travel data and analytics expert Cirium shows the dramatic extent of the impact of the decision by airlines to avoid Iranian and Iraqi airspace.
Time Aerospace thumbnail


Copyright Shutterstock

 
More than a thousand fights a week from destinations throughout the Middle East and around the world, as well as tens of thousands of passengers on nearly 40 airlines, are affected.
 
Turkish Airlines alone flies 35 times a week to the Iranian capital of Tehran as well as 21 flights a week to Erbil and 19 flights to Baghdad in Iraq. Qatar Airways also operates 20 weekly flights to Tehran as well as 17 to Erbil and a further three to the Iraqi capital Baghdad. Royal Jordanian operates an additional 16 weekly flights to Baghdad.
 
The impact of heightened political tensions in the region extends beyond direct routes. Airlines operating overflights, that is services travelling through Iranian and Iraqi airspace en route to other destinations, have also been forced to re-route. This means extra fuel costs for carriers and longer flight times for passengers.
 
All flights from Europe to the Arabian Gulf, Middle and Far East could be affected. Among the major airlines being forced to take longer flights are British Airways, China Airlines, Finnair, Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic among many others.
 
Below is a table which shows the weekly number of flights operated by major airlines flying to destinations in Iran and Iraq: