Airspace of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman

This CZIB is issued based on information currently available to EASA, the European Commission and Member States in order to share information which is considered necessary to ensure the safety of flights over zones of interest and indicate areas of high risk.

Following the military conflict between the United States and Iran, the regional security situation remains volatile, creating additional risks in the airspace of the affected countries.  

Iranian efforts to maintain control over the Strait of Hormuz, recurrent attacks against commercial vessels, and related US military actions create high risks for the airspace over the waters of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as for the airspace over the waters in the Gulf of Oman west of longitude 58°E.

The presence of major US military facilities in the region increases the likelihood that the States covered by this CZIB may be directly exposed to Iranian missile and drone attacks. The surrounding maritime airspace may also be affected by missile or drone overflights, interception activity, falling debris and the wider consequences of regional military escalation.

The heightened readiness and activation of national and US air-defence systems increase the risk of misidentification, unintended engagement and collateral effects affecting civil aircraft. Military activity may occur with little or no warning in confined airspace, significantly reducing the time available to aircraft operators and air navigation service providers to mitigate exposure through tactical rerouting or timely airspace management measures.

Regional authorities have implemented temporary airspace closures and restrictions at different stages of the conflict. However, the unpredictable nature and rapid evolution of military activity may challenge the timely and effective implementation of such measures.

Unpredictable military developments, combined with the possible use of missiles, drones, combat aircraft and air-defence systems, create a high risk to civil flights at all altitudes and flight levels over the waters within the concerned airspace.

While risks over the waters of the Persian Gulf remain high, operations necessary for arrivals at or departures from aerodromes within the affected FIRs may be conducted with sufficient mitigation, provided they are based on an up-to-date risk assessment and continuous risk monitoring. Residual risks also remain over the land territory of the affected States, where operators should continue to exercise caution and take account of possible missile and drone activity, air-defence operations and falling debris.

EASA, together with the Commission and Member States, will continue to closely monitor the situation, with a view to assess whether there is an increase or decrease of the risk for EU aircraft operators due to the evolution of the threat and risk situation.