Hong Kong carrier responds to international alert about launches from the Caspian Sea into Syria but Australian airline says Iran’s airspace is not off-limits

Cathay suspends flights over Iran due to missile alert but Qantas says no danger

Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong’s flagship airline, has stopped flying over Iran and the Caspian Sea after the European Aviation Safety Agency issued a warning about missiles being fired at Syria.



The Australian carrier Qantas said it had chosen not to suspend flights over the area. “The Europeans said that those issues were there, but didn’t make any recommendations or changes to what airlines do,” said Alan Joyce, the Qantas chief executive.

Easa stepped in as Russia intensifies its air campaign against Islamic militants in Syria. Last week Moscow launched a salvo of cruise missiles from its warships in the Caspian.

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Cathay said on Wednesday it had suspended flights in response to the dangers. “In view of the situation in the region Cathay Pacific suspended all flights over Iran and Caspian Sea since last Thursday until further notice,” it said.

The airline said it had received safety advisories from both Easa and the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organisation but added that neither had made specific recommendations to carriers.

Cathay already had a long-term policy not to overfly Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Syria, the statement said.

In its safety bulletin released last week Easa said “missiles en route to Syria crossed airspace in Iran and Iraq below flight routes used by commercial transport aeroplanes”.

The missiles had been launched from the Caspian Sea, it said, adding that the advisory was to “create awareness” for airspace users.

News of the air safety warning came as investigators on Tuesday issued their final report into the fate of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, concluding it was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile fired from war-torn eastern Ukraine. The Boeing 777 was downed in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

Joyce, the Qantas chief, said: “If there was a problem, and if does turn into being a problem, Qantas will not be flying aircraft through that airspace. But the information that we have is it is safe to do so.”



Qantas flies over Iran on its Dubai to London leg.

Russia said on Tuesday its air force had hit 86 “terrorist” targets in Syria in the past 24 hours – the highest one-day tally since it launched its bombing campaign on September 30.

Washington and its allies – engaged in their own air war against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq – accuse Moscow of targeting moderate Western-backed rebels and seeking to prop up President Bashar al-Assad, a longtime Russian ally.