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U.S. carriers ordered by FAA to avoid Middle East airspace
Jan 8, 2020All U.S.-registered carriers have been indefinitely banned from flying over Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman following rocket attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq on Wednesday.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a notice that prohibits “U.S. civil aviation operators from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, and the waters of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman,” it said in a statement.
‘The FAA will continue closely monitoring events in the Middle East,’ the statement said.
The statement came just a few hours after Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles from its territory targeting at least two Iraqi military bases housing U.S.-led coalition personnel, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.
The FAA said it issued the airspace ban ‘due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions in the Middle East, which present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations.’
“All is well!” President Donald Trump tweeted after the missile attacks. “Assessment of casualties & damages taking place now. So far, so good! We have the most powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world, by far! I will be making a statement tomorrow morning [January 8].”
Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Republished with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036
