FAA bans US civilian flights over Iraq
August 09, 2014 00:19
The Federal Aviation Administration today banned all US civilian flights over Iraq, just hours after air strikes ordered by Washington on Islamist fighters.
In a Notice to Airmen, the FAA cited the "potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict" between Islamic State militants and Iraqi security forces and their allies as the reason for the indefinite ban.
The ban extends to "all US air carriers and commercial operators," as well as US-licensed pilots unless they are flying aircraft registered in the United States for a foreign operator.
Northern and eastern Iraq lie on the flight path for several non-American long-haul carriers operating between Europe, the Middle East and Asia, according to online flight tracking services.
Concern about civilian flights over conflict zones soared after the July 17 downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur above an area of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatist rebels.
Turkish Airlines, one of the key foreign carriers flying to Iraq, said it had halted flights to the main city of Iraq's Kurdish region for security reasons amid the Islamist offensive.
"Our flights to Arbil are being cancelled for security reasons until further notice," the airline said in a statement.
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