The Federal Aviation Administration has
barred U.S. civilian aircraft from flying over Iran, Iraq, the Persian Gulf and
the Gulf of Oman amid escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
The three separate Notices to Airmen were issued in the
aftermath of Iran’s missile attacks early Wednesday morning on two Iraqi
military bases that house U.S. troops.
The FAA said that increased political tensions in the Middle
East “present an inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation due to the potential
for miscalculation or misidentification.”
Numerous airlines from around the world that operate flights
either to or over Iran and Iraq have also either canceled flights or altered
routes.
Among those is Ukraine International Airlines, whose flight
752, operated with a Boeing 737-800 manufactured in 2016, crashed shortly after
its 6:10 a.m. takeoff from Tehran on Wednesday morning, killing all 167
passengers and all 9 crew members.
Ukraine’s embassy in Iran originally said the crash was
caused by engine failure and ruled out a terrorist attack, according to the
BBC. But the embassy has since removed that statement and now says the comment
was not official. Ukraine International Airlines says it is working in
cooperation with authorities to determine what caused the crash.