EU aviation agency warns against flying over Iran

Europe’s civil aviation safety agency issued a conflict zone information bulletin warning commercial flights flying into Iranian airspace that may be inadvertently targeted by the country’s air defense systems, Report says, citing TASS.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the EU body responsible for civil aviation safety, said that “due to the hazardous security situation and poor coordination between civil aviation and military operations, there is a risk of misidentification of civil aircraft.”

“Due to the presence of various advanced air-defense systems, it is advised to be cautious with the risk associated with civil aviation. The risk to operations is assessed to be HIGH for Flight Levels below 250,” EASA said.

“Operators should take this information and any other relevant information into account in their risk assessments, alongside any available guidance or directions from their national authority as appropriate.”  

The agency said Conflict Zone Information Bulletin remains valid until January 16 next year.

Tehran earlier said that the misalignment of an air defense unit’s radar system was the key ‘human error’ that resulted in the accidental downing of Flight 752 by Ukraine International Airlines in January.