BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 8
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Major Kazakhstan’s Air Astana airline company has suspended flights through the airspace over Iraq and Iran, a representative of the company told Trend.
Previously planes of Air Astana used to fly over Iran on the route to Dubai.
Thus, the company has made the decision to change the route of flights from Almaty and Nur-Sultan to Dubai, having excluded flights through the airspace of Iran and Iraq.
As a result, the time of the flight will increase: on the Almaty – Dubai route by 20 minutes, on Dubai – Almaty route by 10 minutes, on Nur-Sultan – Dubai route by 55 minutes, on Dubai - Nur-Sultan route by 35 minutes.
Established in 2001, Air Astana company is one of the largest airline companies in Kazakhstan. Currently, Air Astana operates a fleet of 34 aircrafts and over 60 domestic and international routes.
On the morning of Jan. 8 Iran has attacked American targets in Iraq. It was noted that Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched at least 35 missiles on Ayn al-Asad air base in Iraq's west and the base in Erbil.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called the Iranian strike a self-defense measure after the attack launched from the base in Iraq against Iranian citizens and officials, while he emphasized that Tehran was not seeking an "escalation or war."
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