UAE calls on airlines to evaluate flight paths over Iran-US tensions

Dubai - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Saturday called on air operators in the Gulf country to reassess flight paths amid heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCCA) also urged the air carriers to avoid flying over potentially perilous areas.

“Given current regional developments and as a precautionary measure, UAE-registered air operators need to avoid operating in areas that could jeopardize civil aviation safety and operations,” the GCAA said in a statement, according to the official UAE news agency WAM.

On Friday, the UAE airlines Emirates, Flydubai and Etihad said they had rerouted their flight paths due to escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

A host of major airlines around the world also announced that their planes are no longer flying over the Strait of Hormuz after Iranian forces shot down a US drone in the area.

The announcements came after the US Federal Aviation Administration banned flights for US-registered aircraft over some Iranian-controlled airspace, citing heightened military activities and increased political tensions.

Hawkish rhetoric between Washington and Tehran has escalated over the downing of the unmanned US reconnaissance drone earlier this week, which Iran says entered its airspace.

The US military says the drone was shot down in international waters while over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically important waterway for global oil shipments.