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Airlines have been warned that flights over parts of the Middle East are in danger from Russian cruise missiles.
Numerous airlines including Air France and British Airlines were sent a safety bulletin by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The bulletin came after Russia began launching air strikes into Syria, with several airlines which operate routes from Europe flying over strike areas such as Iran, Iraq and the Caspian Sea.
Russia’s missile routes from warships in the Caspian Sea are cutting across busy air corridors, the Telegraph reports.
EASA said that “before reaching Syria, such missiles are necessarily crossing the airspace above [the] Caspian Sea, Iran and Iraq, below flight routes” used by commercial aircraft.
Air France began altering its routes yesterday to avoid the area.
British Airways declined to say on Friday whether it was changing routes for flights in the region but did add that it would “never fly in airspace unless we were satisfied that it was safe to do so”.
A spokesman said: “Our security teams are aware of that EASA bulletin and continue to liaise with the relevant parts of the UK government.”