The European Air Traffic Regulatory Agency, Eurocontrol NM, organized an emergency crisis meeting where the Bosnia and Herzegovina – BiH Air Navigation Services Agency (BHANSA) was informed about the new situation and the flight diversion plan, which will lead to an increase in air traffic over BiH.
The development of the situation is being monitored
“The escalation of the conflict in the Middle East may affect air traffic over BiH due to flight diversions, changes in passenger demand, economic consequences, international relations and security issues that affect passenger confidence in air traffic,” said Davorin Primorac, director of BHANSA.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has issued a recommendation to airlines to avoid the airspace of Iran, Lebanon and Israel, while Ukraine’s airspace has been closed since the beginning of the conflict with Russia.
Comparison with last year
As Primorac explained, the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East in recent days has resulted in an increase in air traffic over BiH by about 10 percent compared to the same period last year, due to the rerouting of flights.
“Due to the geographical position of BiH, in accordance with the current flight diversion scenario, we expect the trend of increasing the number of flights to be maintained at the same level, especially between Middle East countries such as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and countries such as the United States (U.S.), Switzerland, Austria and Spain”, said Primorac.
Changes in flight schedules
Primorac further stated that in the coming period, the trend of air traffic development depends to a large extent on the development of the situation in the Middle East.
Further development and possible escalation of the conflict could cause serious disruptions in air traffic, which will certainly have an unfavorable impact on the development of air traffic, both at the global level and in BiH.
“Changes in airline flight schedules that would include airports in BiH are also possible, and we expect a greater number of humanitarian, business and diplomatic flights through the airspace of BiH”, added Primorac.
He also informed that there are currently indications of a reduction in the number of flights to Turkey, as well as the cancellation of flights by major companies such as British Airways, Lufthansa, Ryanair and others to Tel Aviv, Tehran and Beirut.
“We continue to closely monitor the development of the situation and maintain active communication with our international partners, and we are ready to react quickly to any changes caused by a possible further escalation of the conflict”, concluded the director of BHANSA, Davorin Primorac.
