Here’s how the no-fly zone over Iran and Iraq is disrupting flights worldwide

Commercial airlines are continuing to reroute flights throughout the Middle East amid U.S.-Iran tensions.

The changing schedules could impact “as many as 15,000 passengers per day,” according to The Washington Post. It could also lengthen flight times by “an average of 30 to 90 minutes,” analysts said.

Aviation consult Mark Martin told The Washington Post that at least 500 flights travel over Iran and Iraq every day.

“In a war situation, the first casualty is always air transport,” Martin said.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) created a no-fly zone over Iran and Iraq after Iran attacked military bases that house U.S. troops on Jan. 7, the Guardian reported. The attack came after a U.S. airstrike killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

U.S. officials also believe that a Ukraine International Airlines plane that crashed on Jan. 7 and killed 176 people onboard was unintentionally shot down by an Iranian missile, according to NBC News.

Even though the no-fly zone applies to U.S. cargo carriers and airlines, global airlines have followed suit and chosen not to fly over Iraq and Iran, according to Business Insider.

Air France, Malaysia Airlines, Lufthansa and Taiwan’s EVA Air are avoiding flying over Iran and Iraq, while Singapore Airlines confirmed that its planes wouldn’t fly over Iran, CNN reported.

Airlines have also canceled flights, with Lufthansa saying it wouldn’t fly to Erbil or Tehran, Iran’s capital. Emirates also canceled flights going from Dubai and Baghdad, where Soleimani was killed, according to CNN.

This story was originally published January 9, 2020 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Here’s how the no-fly zone over Iran and Iraq is disrupting flights worldwide."