Iran's recent ballistic missile strikes on Israel have caused concern for the safety of civilian aircraft within the region.
The missile launches – which originated in western Iran – affected a large area that spanned Iraq, northern Saudi Arabia, Jordan, southern Syria, and Israel. Despite the widespread impact, operators received little to no warning of the ballistic missile strikes.
Speaking at a webinar, Matthew Borie, chief intelligence officer at Osprey Flight Solutions, highlighted the risk of not informing civilian aircraft of the missile strikes.
“The warning to operators was very limited, deceiving or didn't happen at all from governments, and in many cases, flights had to literally divert mid-flight, “said Borie.
“Over or approaching Iranian airspace, Iraqi airspace, Jordanian airspace, the disruption that was caused just by that was significant. Luckily, we did not have a catastrophic event in flight. But if these types of situations are going to persist, we're careening towards something like that taking place in a region that has a history of these types of events happening.”
Osprey also noted the lack of NOTAMs (notices to air men) were significant across the affected region.
Borie stated: “Israel claimed it closed its airspace and suspended flights at Ben Gurion International Airport before the missiles reached Israeli airspace, but no NOTAMs were issued, Jordan, Iraq, and Iran closed their airspaces via NOTAMs after the first wave of missile launches and shootdowns, but significant air defence activity occurred without NOTAMs.”
The strikes come just days after the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued Conflict Zone Information Bulletin’s (CZIBs) recommending not to operate within the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel at all flight levels.
A spokesperson for EASA said: “The EASA will closely monitor the situation, with a view to assess whether there is an increase or decrease of risks for EU aircraft operators as a result of the evolution of the threat.”
This move comes as the European Commission and the EASA are closely monitoring the situation in the Middle East and its impact on civil aviation following a recent spike in military exchanges between Israel and Hezbollah. The recommendation is valid until October 31, 2024, and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment.
When discussing the situation in Lebanon, Borie commented on the area surrounding Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport.
“Beirut International Airport has not been directly struck, but strikes are taking place within three kilometres of the airport, only Middle East airlines are operating at the airport, with no foreign carriers conducting flights,” said Borie.
He continued: “Israel has stated it is conducting air patrols over Beirut airport and has warned against any flights carrying weapons to resupply Hezbollah and that multiple Iranian airline flights headed to Beirut turned back after being warned by Lebanese authorities about potential IDF interception."
Osprey Flight Solutions predict that Israel will retaliate to the Iranian strikes within five days of the October 1, ballistic missile attack on the country.