United Airlines said that it had suspended flights from Newark to Mumbai following a safety review in light of recent events in Iran, Reuters reported, citing the US air carrier's website.
“Given current events in Iran, we have conducted a thorough safety and security review of our India service through Iranian airspace and decided to suspend our service between EWR and BOM”, United Airlines said on its website, cited by Reuters.
Last month, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) urged airlines to exercise caution when flying over Iran and nearby areas in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, due to heightened military activities and increased political tension.
“Although Iran likely has no intention to target civil aircraft, the presence of multiple long-range, advanced anti-aircraft capable weapons in a tense environment poses a possible risk of miscalculation or misidentification, especially during periods of heightened political tension and rhetoric”, the FAA said in a statement, cited by Reuters.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) earlier on Thursday shot down a US surveillance drone that Tehran claimed was in violation of Iran airspace, particularly, in the coastal Hormozgan province facing the Persian Gulf, where tensions have been escalating due to a worsening standoff between the US and Iran.
The US military CENTCOM said the downing of the drone was an attempt to disrupt the ability of the US to monitor the…
