After a five-hour closure, Iran reopens its airspace

Iran reopened its airspace on Thursday after approximately five hours of closure, amid fears of a possible US military action.

A notice posted on the website of the Federal Aviation Administration stated that Iran had temporarily closed its airspace to all flights, except for international flights to and from the country operating under official authorization, starting at 22:15 GMT on Wednesday.

The notice was lifted shortly before 03:00 GMT, according to flight-tracking website FlightRadar24, which showed that five flights operated by Iranian airlines were among the first to resume flying over the country.

The temporary closure occurred as US President Donald Trump was considering options to deal with the situation in Iran, which is experiencing its largest anti-government protests in years.

A US official said on Wednesday that the United States was withdrawing some personnel from its bases in the Middle East, after a senior Iranian official stated that Tehran had warned its neighbors that it would target US bases if Iran were subjected to American airstrikes.

The increasing use of missiles and drones in conflict zones poses a significant risk to air traffic.

Following the sudden announcement of the airspace closure, IndiGo, India’s largest airline, said that some of its international flights would be affected. Air India stated that its flights were using alternative routes that could lead to delays or cancellations.

A Russian Aeroflot flight bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to FlightRadar24 data.

Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued new guidance warning its airlines against entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rescheduled its flights over the Middle East amid rising regional tensions.

The United States already bans all US commercial flights from flying over Iran, and there are no direct air links between the two countries.

Airlines such as Turkish Airlines have canceled a number of flights to Iran over the past week.

Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would avoid flying over Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice, and that it would operate only daytime flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until next Monday, so that flight crews would not have to stay overnight at airports. The airline added in a statement that some flights could be canceled as a result of these measures.

Meanwhile, Italian airline ITA Airways, in which the Lufthansa Group is a major shareholder, confirmed that it would also suspend its night flights to Tel Aviv until next Tuesday.