KLM aircrafts have decided to no longer fly above the Strait of Hormuz after the downing of an American drone by an Iranian rocket yesterday, reports NOS.
It was on the recommendation of an international system. According to VVD MP Koopmans, this international system, that was set up after the downing of flight MH17 in 2014, which needs to “quickly identify unsafe flying areas”, has done its job.
“Safety is our top priority for us. We are following all developments relating to airspace safety closely and are organizing the operation in such a way that flight safety is guaranteed,” says KLM. However, this means that flights between Asia and Europe will be taking longer and a lot more fuel.
Here is our high-res map of the Civil Air Traffic picture at 2335Z last night, showing the risk to aircraft operators in the region. #opsgroup #flightplanning #IranUSTension #StraitofHormuz #drone #missile #iran #GulfOfOman pic.twitter.com/FfhGhdsKvr
— OpsGroup (@_opsgroup) June 20, 2019
American airlines have also adopted the same decision, which prohibits them from flying above the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman “due to safety concerns”.
What do you make of this? Let us know in the comments below!