In what could have been a disaster, two Air India planes flew over Iran’s airspace barely a few hours before it launched an audacious attack on Israel.
Air India flights 116 and 131 flew from New York to Mumbai and from Mumbai to London, respectively, on April 13 and April 14 above the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman when the shadow of a conflict between Iran and Israel loomed large, reports said.
On the night of April 13, Iran attacked Israel with the former reportedly firing at least 300 missiles towards Tel Aviv. Iran’s move came after Israel attacked Iran’s consulate building in Syria’s Damascus on April 1 in which 13 Revolutionary Guards including two of its generals dead.
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As per reports, the Air India planes, a Boeing 777-232 and Boeing 777ER, can accommodate around 280 and 330 passengers.
Meanwhile, Air India spokesperson has reportedly said the airliner accords top priority to the safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft.
“Our flight operations plan, regardless of airspace, is risk-assessed and we do not make any compromise with safety issues,” the airliner’s spokesperson was quoted by HT as having said.
The above official also said, “From 13th April 2024, even while the Iranian airspace was available to civilian air traffic without any restrictions or NOTAM and airlines continued operating in that airspace, Air India was closely monitoring the developing the situation in the Middle East in close consultation with various safety organisations and regulatory bodies. As part of our risk assessment some of our west-bound flights were planned on an alternative route along the safe corridor which was also used by other airlines.”
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A NOTAM is an alert issued by an aviation authority to pilots about potential hazards along a route.
Besides Air India, other airliners to flew over the Iranian airspace on April 13 includes Malaysia Airlines, Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Several global airlines began rerouting or cancelling flights on the night between Saturday and Sunday, and on Monday (April 15).
