The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 9 April extended its conflict-zone bulletin advising all EU carriers to avoid the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, most Gulf states and parts of Saudi Arabia and Oman until at least 24 April 2026. The notice cites ongoing military escalation and the risk of misidentification or interception failures. Czech flag-carrier ČSA and leisure airline Smartwings confirmed that east-bound services to Dubai, Tel Aviv and Bangkok will continue to operate on elongated routings via Turkey and the Caucasus, adding up to 70 minutes of flight time and raising fuel costs by an estimated €4,000 per rotation. Cargo operator SkyTaxi has suspended charters to Riyadh and Kuwait for the advisory period. Travel-management companies in Prague report a surge in rebooking requests from corporate clients with staff scheduled to connect through Gulf hubs. Mobility managers are advising assignees to avoid tight layovers and to check insurance policies for war-risk exclusions—especially as some underwriters now treat Iranian and Iraqi airspace as an automatic exclusion zone. Should the advisory roll over into May, airlines warn of potential schedule thinning as crews hit monthly duty-time limits. Employers with rotational staff in the energy and construction sectors are urged to build extra slack into travel itineraries and to consider alternative routings via Muscat or Jeddah, which remain partially open at high altitude under the EASA exemption.
Source: Anadolu Agency
