Finnair is re-routing flights to Dubai, in order to avoid Iranian airspace amid escalating tensions in the region.
Wednesday morning’s flight to AY1916 from Helsinki to Dubai was supposed to depart at 08:05 but was delayed for three hours while aviation officials worked out an agreement on a new flight path via Saudi Arabia.
“From Finnair flights it’s only the Dubai route that has been flown partly in Iranian airspace” a Finnair spokesperson tells News Now Finland.
“From today onwards we will operate our Dubai flights using a longer route that avoids flying over the conflict areas” Finnair explains.
The company is following the situation in the region closely and is likely to keep current arrangements with Saudi Arabia in place for at least the next week.
An evening flight to Dubai operated by Fly Dubai, in code-share with Emirates, is still set to depart on schedule at 22:50.
Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles around 00:30 Helsinki time on Wednesday morning at targets in Iraq, in retaliation for a US missile strike last week which killed a top Iranian general while he was visiting Baghdad.
America’s Federal Aviation Administration issued a notice late Wednesday night that prohibit US airlines from operating in the airspace over Iraq, Iran and the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
