"The world's airspace is divided into Flight Information Regions (FIRs), which broadly follow international borders. Governments are usually responsible for the regions above them, providing air traffic services. In an extreme situation, like a regional war, authorities will alert aircraft that they are restricting or closing their FIRs by issuing a notification called a Notam, or Notice to Air Missions."
"It is not just governments that cause empty skies. Airlines make decisions on where not to fly based on a number of factors, including warnings from the countries where they are registered (such as the UK for British Airways or India for Air India) and whether their insurers will cover a flight over risky areas."
"In the end, the decision about whether a piece of airspace is safe to fly your passengers through it is that of the airline and the airline's dispatchers, depending on the level of risk. This explains the situation in the largely empty airspace over Lebanon, which is being pounded with Israeli attacks."
A regional war in the Middle East has resulted in the closure of multiple Flight Information Regions (FIRs), creating a massive 2.8 million square kilometer gap in global airspace. Governments issue Notams (Notices to Air Missions) to restrict or close airspace during extreme situations like regional conflicts. Airlines independently decide flight routes based on multiple factors including government warnings, insurance coverage, and risk assessments by dispatch teams. While some FIRs are technically closed, airlines also voluntarily avoid certain airspace like Lebanon's FIR despite it not being officially closed, due to ongoing military attacks. This situation has forced significant changes to airline operations and flight routing globally.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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