National airline Finnair diverted its Dubai flights on Wednesday to avoid Iranian airspace. This decision came after Iran launched missile attacks on US military bases in Iraq late Tuesday.
The flight route was changed to circumvent Iranian airspace and fly over Saudi Arabia. Return flights will also be diverted via Saudi Arabia.
"Considering the situation, we decided not to use Iranian and Iraqi airspace at all," said Finnair’s director of media relations and PR Päivyt Tallqvist.
The decision delayed a flight to Dubai by a few hours on Wednesday morning. Due to the increased flight time, the aircraft had to refuel in Athens, Greece.
Finnair officials said they are constantly following developments in the area and are ready to reroute other Dubai flights via Saudi Arabia this week.
"We are prepared to route all flights through Saudi Arabia to avoid the conflicts in Iran and Iraq," Tallqvist said.
No other Finnair routes fly over Iranian airspace.
Major airlines divert flights
Several international airlines have also begun rerouting flights from Iranian airspace after Tuesday’s missile strikes.
Singapore Airlines, Taiwan’s EVA Air and Malaysian Airlines have changed flight routes to Europe, CNN reports.
The Federal Aviation Administration of the United States has also issued a notice prohibiting US commercial airlines from flying through airspace over Iraq, Iran and the Persian Gulf.