By Joanna Plucinska and Lisa Barrington
LONDON (Reuters) – In late September, an experienced pilot for European low-cost carrier Wizz Air became anxious after learning that his plane would fly over Iraq at night amid escalating tensions between neighboring Iran and Israel.
He decided to appeal the decision just a week ago, as the airline deemed the route unsafe. In response, Wizz Air's flight operations team told him the airway was now considered safe and he should fly it, without providing further explanation, the pilot said.
The pilot, who requested that his name not be published for fear of losing his job, told Reuters, “I was not really happy about it.” Days later, Iraq closed its airspace when Iran fired missiles on October 1 at Israel. “That confirmed my suspicions that it wasn't safe.”
In response to Reuters' queries, Wizz Air said the safety of crew and passengers was its top priority and would not be compromised “under any circumstances,” adding that its decisions on flight destination were based on rigorous risk assessments in collaboration with foreign intelligence specialists. .
Wizz Air also said in a statement: “Our aircraft and crews will only fly in airspace that is considered safe and we will never take any risks in this regard.”
The airline said it conducted a comprehensive risk assessment before deciding to fly over Iraqi airspace in November and followed guidance from the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which deemed the airspace safe on July 31.
It also said it was rerouting some flights in accordance with EASA recommendations and a review of its risk assessment. It did not provide further details about the routes and flights affected.
The airline suspended its flights to and from Tel Aviv until January 14.
Reuters spoke to four pilots, three cabin crew members, three aviation security experts and two airline executives about growing safety concerns in the European aviation industry due to rising tensions in the Middle East after a Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, which led to war. In Gaza.
The Middle East is a major air corridor for planes heading to India, Southeast Asia and Australia, and was crossed daily last year by 1,400 flights to and from Europe, according to Eurocontrol data.
The debate over the safety of flying over the region is raging in Europe largely because pilots there enjoy union protection, unlike other parts of the world.
Reuters reviewed nine unpublished letters from four European associations representing pilots and cabin crews that expressed concerns about air safety in Middle Eastern countries. The letters were sent to Wizz Air, Ryanair, airBaltic, the European Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency between June and August.
“No one should be forced to work in such a dangerous environment and no commercial interests should override the safety and well-being of those on board,” said a letter addressed to the European Aviation Safety Agency and the European Commission from the Romanian flight crew union FPU Romania. On August 26th.
In other messages, staff called on airlines to be more transparent about their decisions on routes and demanded the right to refuse to fly on a dangerous route.
There were no deaths or incidents affecting commercial aviation due to escalating tensions in the Middle East since the outbreak of war in Gaza last year.
Air France opened an internal investigation after one of its commercial planes flew over Iraq on October 1 during Tehran's missile attack on Israel. On that occasion, airlines quickly diverted dozens of aircraft heading towards the affected areas in the Middle East.
Ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran and the sudden overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad by Syrian rebels at the weekend have raised fears of further insecurity in the region.
The use of missiles in the region revived memories of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 and Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 en route from Tehran in 2020.
Three pilots and two aviation safety experts told Reuters that accidentally crashing the plane into the chaos of war was the biggest concern, along with the risk of an emergency landing.
While airlines including Lufthansa and KLM are no longer flying over Iran, airlines including Etihad Airways, Flydubai, Aeroflot and Wizz Air are still crossing the country's airspace as of December 2, data from tracking service FlightRadar24 shows. .
Some European airlines, including Lufthansa and KLM, allow cabin crew to opt out of routes they do not feel are safe, but others such as Wizz Air, Ryanair and airBaltic do not.
AirBaltic CEO Martin Gauss said his company meets international safety standards that do not need to be modified.
“If we start with the right to refuse, where do we stop? (The) next person feels bad flying over Iraqi airspace because there is tension there?” He told Reuters on December 2 in response to inquiries about AirBaltic flight safety talks with unions.
Ryanair, which operated intermittent flights to Jordan and Israel until September, said it made security decisions based on guidance from the European Aviation Safety Agency.
“If EASA says it's safe, then frankly, thank you, we're not concerned about what the unions or some pilots think,” Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary told Reuters in October when asked about staff security concerns.
The European Aviation Safety Agency said it had been involved in a number of exchanges with pilots and airlines on road safety in recent months in relation to the Middle East, adding that disciplining employees for raising safety concerns would conflict with a “fair culture” where employees can voice their concerns.
Insufficient assurances
A Wizz Air pilot in Abu Dhabi told Reuters he was comfortable flying over the conflict-torn region because he believed the industry had very high safety standards.
Wizz Air said it has a safety, security and operational compliance committee that assists the board by overseeing and implementing policies.
“We always strive to be transparent and keep our staff well-informed,” she added, referring to an internal safety reporting system and regular staff updates.
For some pilots and crew members working for budget airlines, corporate reassurances are not enough.
They told Reuters that pilots should have greater choice in refusing flights over potentially dangerous airspace and requested more information about airline security assessments.
“The fact that Wizz Air sends emails confirming that it is safe has nothing to do with commercial employees,” said a letter from FPU Romania to its chief operating officer, Diarmuid Okongile, dated August 12. “Flights to these conflict zones, even if they are rescue missions, must be carried out by military personnel and aircraft, not commercial crews.”
Mircea Constantin, a former cabin crew member who represents FPU Romania, said Wizz Air never provided a formal response to this letter and similar ones sent earlier this year, but did send security guidance and updates to staff.
A pilot and a cabin crew member, who declined to reveal their identities for fear of retaliation, said they had received warnings from their employers for refusing to fly on Middle Eastern routes or calling in sick.
Crowded skies
Last month, 165 missiles were launched into conflict zones in the Middle East compared to just 33 in November 2023, according to the latest data available from Osprey Flight Solutions.
But airspace can only be forcibly restricted if a country chooses to close it, as is the case in Ukraine after Russia's all-out invasion in 2022.
Many airlines have chosen to briefly suspend flights to places such as Israel when tensions escalate. Lufthansa and British Airways did so after Iran bombed Israel on April 13.
But this limits the airspace used in the already crowded skies of the Middle East.
Choosing to fly over Central Asia or Egypt and Saudi Arabia to avoid hotspots in the Middle East is also more expensive as planes burn more fuel and some countries charge higher airfare fees.
For example, flying a commercial plane from Singapore to London Heathrow Airport via Afghanistan and Central Asia costs an airline $4,760 in airfare, about 50% more than the route through the Middle East, according to two August 31 flight plans reviewed by Reuters. .
Reuters could not name the airline because the flight plans are not public.
Some private jets avoid the most important areas.
“Right now, the no-go areas for me would be the hotspots: Libya, Israel and Iran, simply because they are stuck in everything,” said Andy Spencer, a Singapore-based pilot who flies charter and private jets. Who previously worked as an airline pilot.
Spencer, who has two decades of experience and travels through the Middle East regularly, said that on a recent flight from Manila to Cuba, he flew from Dubai over Egypt and north through Malta before refueling in Morocco to circumvent Libyan and Israeli airspace.
The European Aviation Safety Agency, considered by industry experts to be the most stringent regional safety regulator, issues public bulletins on how to fly safely over conflict zones.
But these are not mandatory, and each airline decides where to fly based on a combination of government notices, external security advisors, internal security teams and information-sharing between airlines, leading to varying policies.
This intelligence is not usually shared with employees.
Otjan De Bruyne, former president of the European Pilots' Association and the European Cockpit Association, said the uncertainty had sown fear and mistrust among pilots, cabin crew and passengers, as they wondered whether their own airlines had missed something that airlines in other countries knew about. For KLM.
“The more information you provide to pilots, the more informed they can make,” said Spencer, who is also an operations specialist at aviation advisory body OPSGROUP, which provides independent operational advice to the aviation industry.
Pilots and security sources said that when Gulf players such as Etihad Airways, Emirates or Flydubai suddenly stop flying over Iran or Iraq, the industry considers this a reliable indicator of danger, as these airlines can obtain detailed intelligence from their governments.
Flydubai told Reuters that it operates within the airspace and routes in the area approved by the General Civil Aviation Authority in Dubai. Emirates said it constantly monitors all routes and adjusts them as needed and will never operate a flight unless it is safe to do so. Etihad said it only operates through approved airspace.
Passenger rights groups are also asking travelers for more information.
“If passengers refuse to fly over conflict zones, airlines will not want to continue such flights,” said Paul Hudson, president of the US-based passenger group Flyers Rights. “Passengers who take such flights will do so knowing the risks.”
