Egypt Asks its Airlines to Avoid Tehran Airspace for Three Hours on Thursday

Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)
Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)
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Egypt Asks its Airlines to Avoid Tehran Airspace for Three Hours on Thursday

Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)
Vehicles drive past a huge banner showing the late Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, left, who was killed in an assassination last week, joining hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. (AP)

Egypt instructed all of its airlines to avoid Iranian air space for a three-hour period in the early morning on Thursday amid tension between Israel and Iran.

The NOTAM, a safety notice provided to pilots on Wednesday, said the instruction would be in effect from 0100-0400 GMT.

"All Egyptian carriers shall avoid overflying Tehran (Flight information Region) FIR. No flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory," the notice said, referring to the three-hour period provided.

On Sunday, Jordanian authorities asked all airlines landing at its airports to carry 45 minutes worth of extra fuel.

Many airlines are revising their schedules to avoid Iranian and Lebanese air space while also calling off flights to Israel and Lebanon as many fear a possible broader conflict after the killing of senior members of armed groups Hamas and Hezbollah.

Countries in the region, including Jordan, closed their airspace earlier this year amidst aerial attacks on Israel.



Germany Appeals to Citizens: Don't Wait for Evacuation from Lebanon

06 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Planes are seen on the runway at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
06 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Planes are seen on the runway at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
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Germany Appeals to Citizens: Don't Wait for Evacuation from Lebanon

06 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Planes are seen on the runway at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
06 August 2024, Lebanon, Beirut: Planes are seen on the runway at Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport. Photo: Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Rumors of a possible evacuation operation from Lebanon have given German citizens there a false sense of security, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, urging them to leave the country immediately.

"The time now has come to leave Lebanon," the spokesperson said, calling on citizens to organize their own exit even if this means travelling via Türkiye or paying high prices for flights.

A spokesperson for the defense ministry declined to give details on preparations for possible evacuations in the event of an all-out war.

Fears are high of an escalation into a wider regional war, with Iran vowing revenge against Israel over Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh's killing and Lebanon's Hezbollah threatening to retaliate over Israel's killing of Fouad Shukr, one of its top commanders, in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs last week.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday pledged a "strong and effective" response.

He said Hezbollah would wait for the right moment to respond but did not hint at its form or timing.
All international attempts at persuading Hezbollah not to retaliate were futile, he added.