An increasing number of airlines are re-routing their flights to skip Iranian airspace as Middle East tensions intensify, with the latest being Singapore Airlines and its LCC sister, Scoot.
Several Middle Eastern countries including Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon had temporarily shut down their airspace as Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel on April 13; they have since reopened their airspace on April 14. Both Israel and Iran also imposed restrictions on airline traffic over theirs.
Other airlines that have adjusted their Europe-Asia flight routes include Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, and Qantas Airways.
These changes bring prolonged flight duration and additional fuel burn. A Swiss International Air Lines flight between Singapore and Zurich, for instance, will now take 50 additional minutes on top of the original 12 hours and 40 minute flight time.
