SINGY Singapore Airlines Ltd (PK)

By Rory Jones in Dubai and Robert Wall in Paris 

Airlines rerouted flights Friday to avoid airspace over the Persian Gulf after Iran shot down an American military drone, disrupting air travel around one of the world's busiest transportation hubs.

United Continental Holdings Inc. said it would suspend flights between New York and India that travel over the region, after the Federal Aviation Administration banned U.S. aircraft from operating over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Singapore Airlines Ltd., British Airways, Germany's Deutsche Lufthansa AG and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines all said Friday they were avoiding the area.

Iran's shootdown of the airliner-sized drone Thursday raised fears for civilian aircraft that fly through the heavily trafficked region. Air travel between the U.S., Asia and Europe is connected via major airports in Dubai, the world's biggest hub for international flights, and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates and the Qatari capital, Doha.

The U.S. military said Iran shot the highflying drone down in international airspace, and the FAA said the nearest civil aircraft was flying within 45 nautical miles from the drone when it was hit. Iran said the drone was over Iranian airspace and crashed in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.

Heightening the worries: The U.S. drew up plans for a retaliatory military strike on Iran on Thursday night, though President Trump called it off.

The FAA said it "remains concerned about the escalation of tension and military activity within close proximity to high volume civil air routes, " as well as "Iran's willingness to use long-range [surface-to-air missiles] in international airspace with little to no warning."

Dubai-based Emirates Airline, one of the world's largest carriers, said it had "taken precautionary measures including rerouting all flights away from areas of possible conflict." Flights from its Dubai base often pass through Iranian airspace. The carrier said the changes had slightly affected timing of some flights and that it was ready to make more adjustments if necessary.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said it was carefully monitoring the situation and would decide on further action after evaluating the FAA directive. The region's other major carrier, Qatar Airways, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Air-safety regulators and airlines have become increasingly careful about flights near conflict zones in the wake of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine almost five years ago. International prosecutors this week charged four suspects -- including three Russians -- with murder after they concluded a Russian missile system was used to down the Boeing Co. 777 jetliner, killing 298 on board.

Malaysia Airlines said it was avoiding the contested airspace for its flights to London, as well as those bound for Jeddah and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Middle Eastern airlines have also had to repeatedly adjust their routes in recent years because of conflict and political infighting. Carriers have at times been forced to avoid Syrian, Yemeni and Iraqi airspace. In 2017, Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. also cut ties with neighboring Qatar and refused the tiny Gulf nation access to their airspace.

This year, a border skirmish between India and Pakistan in which an Indian warplane was shot down led to airspace closures there, forcing airlines to fly longer routes to avoid the area.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran also have led to an aviation tragedy. In 1988, the U.S. Navy's Vincennes warship downed Iran Air Flight 655 with an air-defense missile. U.S. officials said they mistook the Airbus SE A300 airliner for a combat plane they feared would attack the ship. All 290 people on the passenger plane died.

Airlines have discretion to plan flight routes along airways they think are safe, but rely on governments to issue warnings if they deem airspace unsafe.

In the wake of the Malaysia Airlines shootdown, the United Nations' air safety agency set up a database to help alert airlines about conflict zones that could endanger commercial flights. Airlines currently face conflict related airspace restrictions in Libya, Egypt, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and other locations.

Write to Rory Jones at rory.jones@wsj.com and Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 21, 2019 09:36 ET (13:36 GMT)

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