Multiple airlines announce that they’re suspending flights to Iran after an Iranian missile likely downed a Ukrainian airline, killing 176 passengers on Wednesday; Some are suspending flights into Tehran, others are avoiding Iranian and Iraqi airspace completely.
After Wednesday’s downing of a Ukrainian airline carrying 176 passengers just outside of Tehran, Iran, several airlines are now canceling flights into Tehran or rerouting around the country as a whole. Others are even avoiding Iraqi airspace as well. This revelation comes after a significant amount of evidence surfaced that Iran shot down the Ukrainian International Airline using an air-defense missile. The downing of the plane was likely by mistake, following two waves of missiles being fired from Iran into Iraq at US military forces.
Both Lufthansa & Austrian Airlines are suspending all flights to Tehran until at least January 20, until the investigation as to what happened with the Ukrainian airline can be completed. Several airlines such as KLM, Malaysia Airlines, Vietnam Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airways, Air Canada, and others have stated that they will be rerouting to avoid Iranian and/or Iraqi airspace.
Following the evidence that surfaced, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated, “Our government will continue to work closely with its international partners to ensure that this crash is thoroughly investigated, and that Canadians’ questions are answered.” There were 63 Canadians on the flight that was shot down on Wednesday.
