EU aviation agency issues Saudi airspace advisory after Houthi attacks

The EU Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued an advisory warning airlines to avoid Saudi airspace, following a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis. This advisory, posted on the EASA's website on Wednesday, does not refer to the previous incident involving a diverted flydubai airliner. The EASA has stated that it will continue to monitor the situation to determine if the risk to EU airlines in Saudi Arabia increases or decreases.

In addition to the advisory for Saudi airspace, the EASA has recommended that flights should not operate within the airspace of Jordan at any altitude or flight level. This is a change from a previous advisory that only suggested exercising caution. The agency has also extended its warning for airlines to avoid the airspace over Lebanon, Iran, and Iraq, as well as Gulf waters belonging to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman, until November 16.

This revision supersedes earlier bulletins that recommended avoiding the entire airspace of those countries.

The seven-month-old conflict in the Middle East, sparked by US and Israeli attacks on Iran, has seen Tehran retaliate against US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles. Separately, the Houthis have targeted Saudi interests.