The fatal crash of MH17 is leading airlines to shift toward using Iranian flight routes. Qantas began using Iranian flight routes for the first time on Saturday August 2 instead of its usual Iraq flight routes.
Australian media report that their country’s main airline has altered the route of its Dubai-London flights because of the critical situation in Iraq and the demise of flight MH17 while flying over Eastern Ukraine.
The change comes at a time when the U.S. Federal Aviation Bureau has increased the minimum flight altitude in the Middle East region from 20,000 feet to 30,000 feet. The bureau has also banned all passenger flights to Iraqi airports, including Arbil and Soleymanieh International Airports.
The Tasnim website reports that UAE airlines are also requesting permission to use Iranian flight routes, and reports indicate that the new use of Iranian airspace could bring in annual revenue of $50 million for the country.
