NEW DELHI: American mega carrier United has indefinitely suspended its Mumbai-Newark (EWR) daily nonstop after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) barred its airlines from overflying Iranian airspace, including Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. India is also considering whether it should issue similar directives for its airlines keeping passenger safety in mind. Indian carriers that have flights abroad overfly this region on the way to and from Gulf and some even beyond like from Doha to Istanbul.“We are studying the situation. We are holding discussions with foreign and Indian carriers that overfly Iranian airspace. We will shortly firm up our response (regarding issuing an advisory for Indian carriers),” DGCA chief Arun Kumar told TOI.Clearly, no one wants a repeat of the tragic shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17 over Ukraine in July 2014 while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board.Accordingly, the FAA NOTAM “warns pilots (of US-registered aircraft) that flights are not permitted in the overwater area of the Tehran Flight Information Region until further notice, due to heightened military activities and increased political tensions that might place commercial flights at risk. The NOTAM applies to all US air carriers and commercial operators.”A number of non-US airlines have already started avoiding the area following the FAA notice to airmen (NOTAM) for the area that is witnessing heightened tensions after Iran shot down a US drone .An IndiGo spokesperson said: “Gulf of Oman/ strait of Hormuz: A few Routes are affected by the FAA advisory . Alternate routes and adequate special safety measures and instructions to pilots have been implemented. The situation is constantly being monitored and measures will be taken if necessary. All 6E flights are operating according to the planned schedule."A Lufthansa spokesperson said: "Due to the existing tensions between Iran and the USA, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group have been proactively flying around the Strait of Hormuz since June 20. From June 21 the area will be expanded again noticeably. Lufthansa continues to fly to the capital Tehran.”US President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted: “.… We were cocked & loaded to retaliate last night on 3 different sights when I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a general. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone. I am in no hurry, our military is rebuilt, new, and ready to go, by far the best in the world….”United’s statement on suspending the EWR-Mumbai flight said: “Given current events in Iran, United has conducted a thorough safety and security review of our India service through Iranian airspace and decided to suspend our service between New York/Newark and India (Mumbai) beginning this (Friday) evening.”Incidentally, United’s Delhi-Newark daily nonstop is also suspended till July 2 (for now) due to continued closure of Pakistan airspace. United is currently the only American airline that flies to India with Mumbai and Delhi being the two routes it operates on. Both these routes are suspended for now.Currently, Air India is the only airlines with direct flights between India and US. Although the closure of Pakistani airspace has meant AI’s flights from Delhi to US East Coast have to take a fuelling stop in Europe. On way back to India, these flights fly nonstop. AI has a daily direct on Mumbai-EWR route. A senior AI official said, “As of now, we are not affected by the FAA NOTAM for Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”The United spokesperson added: “Customers flying onboard UA9239 (Mumbai – New York/Newark) will be rebooked on alternative flights back to the US. Customers traveling on these flights will experience extended flight times due to a change in our normal flight path. We are contacting our customers to provide this update and assist those who may need rebooking options. We continue to explore all our options and remain in close contact with relevant government authorities in order to provide our customers with the most efficient travel experience under these circumstances.”In November 2017, United had suspended its EWR-Delhi flights for some days due to severe pollution here.