Qantas reroutes flights over Iran after US FAA warns on Iraq route

QANTAS has stopped flying over war-torn Iraq after the US Federal Aviation Administration raised the minimum ceiling for flights from 20,000ft to 30,000ft.

The first flight took a new route over Iran early this morning and the airline says the change, which is understood to add about 10 minutes to flying time on its Dubai-London services, will be in effect until new information is available.

The move comes after alliance partner Emirates last weekend signalled it would start avoiding Iraqi airspace on its European services, although it was still serving three destinations in Iraq.

Qantas initially said it would continue to overfly Iraq because it believed its flights, which routinely cruise at 38,000ft to 41,000ft, were safe.

A Qantas spokesman said the airline had been closely monitoring the situation, particularly in light of the destruction of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over the Ukraine.

“We have no new information that alters our safety assessment of flying over Iraq, especially given the altitudes we maintain over this region.

“However, given the various restrictions imposed by different governments in the past 24 hours, including by the United States’ FAA, Qantas has temporarily rerouted its flights within the Middle East to avoid Iraqi airspace,’’ the spokesman said

“This change will apply until further information becomes available.

“The flight path adjustment applies to services between Dubai and London, and is not expected to significantly increase flight times on this route.

“We will continue to assess this situation and make any further changes we think are prudent.’’

The FAA said it raised the minimum flight level for US airlines on Thursday night AEST because of the “the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict’’ there.

The notice came amid that militants had gained access to weapons capable of shooting down planes, also this was not officially confirmed.

The FAA also prohibited US carriers from flying in and out of two Iraqi airports, Erbil International and Sulaymaniyah International.