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Finnair
has said it will operate all its flights normally despite the possible war in
Iraq.
The
International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) are monitoring the situation constantly and have planned alternate flight
routes for their operations should a war break out.
On the basis of information currently available, Finnair flight routes pass
the possible war zone from a sufficient distance meaning that the flights
can be operated normally.
"The possible war in Iraq does not affect Finnair's scheduled traffic, as
flights in Europe and to Asia do not pass by Iraqi airspace. Only possible
disturbances in Afghanistan's airspace might cause slight route alterations
to our Asian flights. We have already anticipated this by obtaining the necessary flight permits," explains SVP Hannes Bjurström from
Finnair's Flight Operations Division.
Finnair flights that pass closest to Iraq are leisure flights, which make a
stopover in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Finnair's flight route to Dubai
passes through Georgia and Azerbaijan into Iranian airspace. Dubai is located
1400km from Baghdad, and the airway used by Finnair is situated some 600km from Baghdad.
ICAO, other European airlines and Finnair have assessed Iranian airspace
and Dubai International Airport are still safe even with the possible start of war.
As a contingency plan, Finnair has obtained flight permits which will allow
it to increase its flight route distance from Baghdad to 800km. This will
allow Finnair to fly to Dubai without disruption even if the international
air corridors close to the Iraqi border are closed.
Stopovers in Dubai will be made until March 30 by Finnair leisure flights to
Phuket, and Utapao in Thailand and Goa in India. Finnair makes 14 stopovers a week in Dubai. |
