PARIS, March 20: Airlines altered flight routes and cancelled services on Thursday to avoid Iraq amid concern over the effects of war on an already depressed airline industry.
Many carriers announced they had halted flights to Middle Eastern destinations, though a few laid on extra services to help nationals evacuate the Gulf region.
Air transport organisations had already warned the conflict could deal a sharp setback to recovery efforts following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks against the United States.
Carriers providing services between Europe and Asia were forced to reroute flights north and south of Iraq, leading to additional costs for extra fuel, while stepped-up security measures were also expected to raise the financial toll.
Flights from Singapore to London and Frankfurt were routed over Afghanistan and Turkey, while those from Hong Kong to Europe flew over China and Russia.
Passengers flying Garuda Indonesia to Amsterdam were to go though Singapore, stop in Bangkok, and pass over Cairo.
European carriers such as British Airways, and Lufthansa have cancelled flights to Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Kuwait via Saudi Arabia.
BA will continue to serve Dubai and Doha, however, with a company spokesman saying: “We’ll be operating as we had for the last few days.”
Dutch airline KLM said it would fly to Israel, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, but Cyprus Airways has suspended all flights to the Gulf at least until Sunday.
In Jordan, traffic was normal early Thursday with airlines saying they had not altered their flight plans.
The following is a summary of announcements by airlines:
— Austrian Airlines: Cancelled flights to Tel Aviv.
— British Airways: Suspended flights to Kuwait and Tel Aviv.
— Iran Air: Cancelled flight to Kuwait.
— Jat: The national carrier of Serbia and Montenegro has suspended service to Beirut, Damascus, Dubai, and Tel Aviv.
— KLM: The Dutch carrier cancelled flights to Amman and Kuwait.
— Lufthansa: The German carrier cancelled flights to Amman, Beirut, Kuwait via Dammam in Saudi Arabia, and Tel Aviv.
A spokesman said further cancellations could not be ruled out and delays were likely.
— Olympic Airways: The Greek airline suspended flights to Alexandria in Egypt, Beirut, and Dubai after halting service to Kuwait 10 days ago.
It also plans to reduce service to Cairo and Larnaca on Cyprus, and is keeping its options open concerning Jeddah and Tel Aviv.
— Royal Jordanian: Has cancelled flights to Baghdad, among the last to the Iraqi capital. — Singapore Airlines: Said it would trim services to North Asia, the Middle East and the United States, and possibly also to European cities. SIA will suspend 65 weekly services on key US and European routes and to Mauritius as part of a cutback in flights due to the Middle East conflict, the carrier said.
— Thai Airways: Said some of its flights to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait and Muscat would be suspended in the event of a US-led attack on Iraq.
— Turkish Airlines: The Turkish national carrier suspended flights to Kuwait from Istanbul, but maintained the rest of its service.
Airlines Maintaining Services:
— Air India: Said it is maintaining flights to the Middle East including Bahrain, Damman in Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
— Alitalia: The Italian national carrier has maintained all flights for the moment, including those to Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul, Tehran and Tel Aviv.
— British Airways: BA continues to fly to Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, and Riyadh. Has reduced its London to Dubai services from two a day to one.
— Cathay Pacific: The Hong Kong flag carrier maintained 20 weekly flights to Bahrain, Dubai, and Riyadh. The twice-weekly service to Riyadh is to stop over in Dubai instead of Bahrain, however, due to an expected downturn in business.
— Indian Airlines: Maintaining flights to Dubai.
— Japan Airlines: Said it would maintain current operations as its services do not include Iraq and neighbouring countries.
— JAT: Has maintained service to Cairo and Larnaca.
— LOT: The Polish airline maintained flights to Beirut and Tel-Aviv.
— Philippine Airlines: Continues its service to Riyadh.
— Royal Jordanian: All flights except those to Baghdad have been maintained.
— South African Airways: All flights operating according to schedule.
— SWISS: The Swiss airline plans to operate normally to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Karachi, Riyadh, Tehran, and the Egyptian tourist sites of Luxor and Sharm el-Sheikh.—AFP