International airlines express concerns about safety along Middle East routes

International and especially European airline pilots and personnel are increasingly concerned about air safety across the Middle East region, which is an important route between the Asia-Pacific region and Europe.

Safety concerns have been on the rise since the Hamas Oct. 7 invasion and terror attack in Israel last year. In 2023, approximately 1,400 daily flights passed through the Middle East, according to data compiled by the European authority Eurocontrol. 

In late September 2024, an experienced pilot from the European low-fare airline company Wizz Air expressed his concerns about air safety in the Middle East, especially in the air corridor between Iran and Israel. 

“I wasn’t really happy with it,” the pilot stated, who wished to remain anonymous.

Days later, Iraqi authorities decided to close the country’s airspace when the Iranian regime fired an unprecedented 180 ballistic missiles at Israel on Oct. 1. While the majority of Iranian missiles were intercepted, Iran's arsenal continues to threaten airline traffic across the Middle East. 

“It confirmed my suspicion that it wasn’t safe,” the unnamed Wizz Air pilot said. 

The Hungarian airline company informed Reuters that crew and passenger safety is its top priority and would not be risked “in any circumstances” and decisions were made in close consultation with intelligence specialists. 

“Our aircraft and crews will only fly in airspace that has been deemed safe and we would never take any risks in this respect,” Wizz Air stated at the time. 

While Middle East tensions have been slightly reduced due to the current ceasefire between Israel and the Iranian terror proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, many European and Western airline companies still avoid parts of the Middle East, especially Iranian airspace which is deemed risky. In 2020, Iran downed Ukrainian International Airline flight PS752 en route from Tehran, killing all passengers and aircrew. 

Wizz Air has also postponed all flights to and from Israel’s Ben-Gurion International Airport until Jan. 14. 

Reuters news agency reportedly reviewed unpublished letters about air safety between Ryanair, Wizz Air, airBaltic and the European Commission. 

“No one should be forced to work in such a hazardous environment and no commercial interests should outweigh the safety and well-being of those on board,” the Roman Flight Crew Union (FPU) stated in a letter addressed to the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). 

AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss stressed that the company follows strict international safety guidelines but does not permit aircrew to unilaterally boycott particular routes. 

“If we start a right of refusal, then where do we stop? [When] the next person feels unhappy overflying Iraqi airspace because there’s tension there?” Gauss argued. 

Ireland's airline company Ryanair emphasized that the company is following EASA security guidelines. 

“If EASA says it’s safe, then, frankly, thank you, we’re not interested in what the unions or some pilot[s] think,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, said. 

There are also divisions among the pilots. A Wizz Air pilot based in Abu Dhabi said he feels confident flying over conflict zones due to the air industry’s high safety standards. 

In addition to airlines, some international private jets have also been avoiding specific Middle Eastern airspaces due to regional conflicts. 

“At the moment, my no-go areas would be the hotspot points: Libya, Israel, Iran, simply because they’re sort of caught up in it all,” said Andy Spencer, a Singapore-based private jet pilot.