Qantas says there is no risk to its flights to London flying through Iraqi airspace.
The airline’s services between Dubai and London currently fly over Iraq, as do a number of other airlines’ flights between Asia and Europe.
Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano says the airline would never compromise its passengers or crew by flying over an area if it was thought to be unsafe.
“That’s why we no longer fly over Syria or Ukraine,” Captain Tobiano said in a statement.
“We receive regular updates on security matters and there is no information to suggest that there is risk to commercial aircraft passing over Iraq, particularly at the altitudes we fly.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and make any changes needed to ensure the safety of our passengers.”
Qantas said its flights to London usually maintained a flight level of between 38,000 and 41,000ft, well above the US Federal Aviation Administration recommendation for airlines to fly over Iraq at above 20,000ft.
While Qantas continued to use Iraqi airspace, the Flying Kangaroo’s alliance partner Emirates said recently it will route its flights around the country after president Tim Clark said he was “not comfortable” with flights over Iraq.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation was due to host a meeting with the heads of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Airports Council International (ACI) and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) in Montreal later on Tuesday.
Airlines around the world have been reassessing their flightplans after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine earlier in July.
