SWISS flights to skirt Iranian airspace
Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) has decided to temporarily avoid flying through Iranian airspace due to escalating tensions in the region.
The airline decided on Friday evening to reroute various flights, it confirmed to the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA on Saturday.
According to SWISS, the affected flights will take up to 90 minutes longer as a result.
Connections to and from Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Delhi and Mumbai are impacted, it said. The decision will apply until April 18. SWISS said it will also avoid Israeli and Lebanese airspace at night on these routes during the period in question.
Other flight companies such as Austrian Airlines, Qantas, and SWISS parent company Lufthansa also previously opted to temporarily circumvent Iranian airspace.
+ From 2023: Swiss government under pressure to toughen stance on Iran
Geopolitical tensions
The situation in the Middle East has worsened further since a presumed Israeli attack on an Iranian consulate building in Damascus, Syria, on April 1. Sixteen people, including two generals from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, were killed. Iran has repeatedly threatened Israel with retaliation.
The Swiss foreign ministry meanwhile advises against travelling to Iran: the development of the situation is uncertain and a significant deterioration of security conditions in the region is possible at any time, according to the ministry’s website.
Translated from German by DeepL/dos
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