Armenia authorities recommend carriers to avoid Iran, Iraq airspace

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia is recommending carriers to avoid the airspace over Iran and Iraq, citing guidelines issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The Committee said they are following the situation in the Middle East, including developments surrounding the downing of a Ukrainian plane in Iran on January 8.

In order to ensure the safety of flights, the Armenian civil aviation authorities are cooperating with the Iranian colleagues, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the EASA and other agencies.

Iran’s military on January 11 announced its role in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet that killed all 176 people on board, saying the shootdown was “unintentional” and blaming “human error.”

The Boeing 737-800 airliner, Ukrainian International Airlines flight PS752, crashed five minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini airport on Wednesday Jan. 8, just hours after Iran fired a barrage of missiles at two military bases in Iraq. The attacks on the bases, which housed American forces, were in retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian commander Gen. Qasem Soleimani the previous week. Those attacks caused no casualties.