Commercial airlines reroute flights amid US-Iran tensions

In this Aug. 20, 2015, file photo, two Qantas planes taxi on the runway at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia. Some Asian airlines have rerouted flights to the Middle East to avoid Iranian airspace, amid escalated tensions over the United States' assassination of a prominent Iranian commander in Iraq. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File) In this Aug. 20, 2015, file photo, two Qantas planes taxi on the runway at Sydney Airport in Sydney, Australia. Some Asian airlines have rerouted flights to the Middle East to avoid Iranian airspace, amid escalated tensions over the United States' assassination of a prominent Iranian commander in Iraq. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

By EMILY SCHMALL / The Associated Press January 8, 2020 5 min read

NEW DELHI (AP) – Commercial airlines are rerouting flights throughout the Middle East to avoid potential danger during heightened tensions between the United States and Iran.

Jumbled schedules could effect as many as 15,000 passengers per day, lengthen flight times by an average of 30 to 90 minutes, and severely bruise the bottom line for airlines, industry analysts said.

There is anxiety that the conflict between the longtime foes could intensify following Iranian ballistic missile strikes Wednesday on two Iraqi bases that house U.S. troops. The attacks were retaliation for the U.S. killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike near Baghdad last week.

“In a war situation, the first casualty is always air transport, said Dubai-based aviation consult Mark Martin, pointing to airline bankruptcies during the Persian Gulf and Yugoslav wars.

At least 500 commercial flights travel through Iranian and Iraqi airspace daily, Martin said.