Egypt tells airlines to avoid Iran airspace for 3 hours on Thursday

As tensions between Israel and Iran escalate, Egypt has issued a safety notice warning all of its carriers to avoid Iranian air space for a three-hour window early Thursday.

A NOTAM, or notice to air missions, that was posted for pilots Wednesday states that all Egyptian carriers should avoid Tehran’s Flight Information Region and that "no flight plan will be accepted overflying such territory" between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. GMT Thursday morning.

In a statement, Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said the warning came after Iran warned all airliners flying over the Iranian territories about military exercises on Wednesday and Thursday.

OPSGroup, an organization for the aviation industry, said in an alert posted on social media platform X Wednesday that "such a (NOTAM) from Egypt is very unusual."

"It is possible that this is an indicator of an Iranian response to Israel, and in turn a potentially large set of airspace disruptions — at the same time, there may be another reason," OPSGroup wrote, adding that it urged close monitoring.

Ian Petchenik, director of communications at Flightradar24, agreed that the NOTAM was unusual -- but said "it’s not surprising that Egypt would want to prevent any of its aircraft from any danger" given developments in the region seen over recent weeks. Still, he found the notice to be interesting because, generally speaking, Egyptian carriers already avoid Iranian air space, he said.

"What we’re seeing now is normal traffic for the region, the time of day (and) time of week," Petchenik told The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon. But if carriers like Emirates, which regularly fly through region’s airspace, alter their paths -- or we stop seeing aircraft in western Iran and Iraq ahead of any additional NOTAMs "then that’s an indication that airlines are taking this very seriously," he said.

Petchenik and others note that several airlines have already individually alerted or changed select flight paths in the Middle East over the last two weeks — with some temporarily suspending flights in and out of Israel and Lebanon as well. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Lufthansa group extended its avoidance of Iranian and Iraqi airspace up to and including August 13.

The Germany-based air travel giant said it would also suspend flights to and from Tel Aviv, Tehran, Beirut, Amman and the Iraqi city of Erbil up to and including Aug. 13, Reuters reported, citing its latest security analysis.

Lufthansa did not immediately respond to the AP’s request for comment Wednesday.