Major airlines divert flights from Iranian and Iraqi airspace

Major international airlines are cancelling and re-routing flights in the Middle East after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at two Iraqi military bases that house US forces. Air France, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and Taiwan's EVA Air said they were avoiding the airspace above Iran and Iraq. Singapore Airlines said it would not fly over Iran. The FAA meanwhile restricted commercial US flights "from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran, and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman." Authorities in Russia recommended the country's airlines avoid the same areas. Escalating tensions between the United States and Iran are making it tougher for airlines to fly over the Middle East, where huge chunks of airspace are already off limits because of political rivalries or war. The attacks by Tehran were retaliation for a US airstrike last week that killed a top Iranian general. A US official said that there were no initial reports of any US casualties from the attack. Some airlines reacted by canceling flights. Lufthansa said it would not fly to Tehran or Erbil, a city in northern Iraq that is home to one of the bases hit in the Iranian missile strike. Emirates canceled flights between Dubai and Baghdad, where the Iranian general was killed. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines said they were conducting flights as usual. BA and Virgin Atlantic said they were monitoring the situation, but not yet diverting flights. For commercial airlines and freight carriers, flight restrictions mean taking the long way around, costing time and money. <br/>