Airlines cancel flights to Middle East after Trump’s ‘armada’ warning to Iran – What’s happening?
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Airlines cancel flights to Middle East after Trump’s ‘armada’ warning to Iran – What’s happening?")
Representative image. Photograph: (AFP)
Major European airlines, including Air France and KLM, suspended flights to parts of the Middle East, citing security concerns as US-Iran tensions rose after President Donald Trump warned that a US “armada” was heading toward the Gulf.
Amid flaring tensions between the United States and Iran, at least two European airlines cancelled flights to the Middle East on Friday (Jan 23). Air France said that it was temporarily halting services to Dubai, citing the geopolitical situation in the region. Dutch airline KLM also halted its flights to cities in the Middle East until further notice, adding that it would not fly through the airspace of several countries in the region, including Iran and Iraq. Meanwhile, Germany’s Lufthansa airline had earlier stated that it will not operate flights “from and to Tehran up to and including March 29.”
The flight disruptions come after US President Donald Trump on Thursday (Jan 22) threatened that a US “armada” was heading towards the Gulf, adding that Washington was watching Iran closely despite Tehran’s suspension of planned executions of protesters amid its government’s crackdown. Meanwhile, Trump also suggested Iran was willing to talk while speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he unveiled an international ‘Board of Peace’.
“Due to the current situation in the Middle East, the company has decided to temporarily suspend its service to Dubai,” France’s national carrier said in a statement to AFP.
The airline added it was “constantly monitoring the evolution of the geopolitical situation in the territories served and overflown by its aircraft” to ensure “the highest level of safety and security” while operating flights. “Air France is monitoring the situation in real time and will provide further updates on its flight schedule,” the French airline said.
Dutch public broadcaster NOS reported on Friday that KLM said that it had suspended its flights to Tel Aviv, Dubai, Dammam and Riyadh until further notice, without proving reason behind the decision. It added that it would not fly through the airspace of Iran, Iraq, Israel and several other Gulf nations. The airline said that it was in touch with Dutch authorities.
What did Trump say?
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“We’re watching Iran,” Trump said while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Washington from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. “We have a lot of ships going that direction just in case. We have a big flotilla going in that direction. And we’ll see what happens.” Trump said.
Claiming the credit for stopping hundreds of executions in Iran amid the violent protests that killed thousands, Trump said, “We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely. I stopped 837 hangings on Thursday. They would have been dead. Everyone would have been hung. This is like from 1,000 years ago.”
He further added, “We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see.”
