Dutch airline KLM lifts ban to resume flights over Iran

Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Dutch carrier KLM announced Thursday it will resume flights over Iran, about two weeks after it and several other airlines barred flights in the airspace after Tehran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jetliner.

Most foreign carriers prohibited flying over Iran after the Ukrainian flight was downed by a missile on Jan. 8. Tehran said the shootdown -- which happened not long after similar Iranian military attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq -- was a mistake.

"KLM uses a security management system to analyze risks and thus determine safe flight paths," KLM said. "Substantiated by such analyses, it is once again safe to fly over Iran and Iraq.

"The British and German governments have also issued a notice to airmen, stating that commercial airlines can once again fly safely over Iran and Iraq. Furthermore, on [Jan. 16], the European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a notification that it would be safe to fly above Iran at an altitude of more than 25,000 feet."

KLM is the flag carrier of the Netherlands.

Malaysia Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, China Airlines and Qantas are among those that barred flights over Iran earlier this month.

The downed Ukrainian Boeing 737 crashed after departing Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. All 176 on board were killed. Investigators are still examining the crash.

Iranian and Iraqi airspace is commonly used by major airlines for routes that connect Europe and Southeast Asia.