EASA has issued new conflict zone information bulletins (CZIBs) warning civil aircraft to completely avoid Lebanese and Israeli airspace at all flight levels. The European aviation safety agency issued the latest bulletins on Saturday as the Israel Defense Force (IDF) expanded aerial attacks on Lebanon, which included bombing in and around the capital Beirut.
The CZIB for Israel covers the Tel Aviv flight information region (FIR) at all altitudes, with the related CZIB for Lebanon covering the Beirut FIR. Both are valid until October 31 and are subject to possible earlier review.
“Considering the current conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, there is a high risk to civil aviation,” said EASA in both CZIBs. “The conflict involves rockets, missiles, and drone launches from Lebanon and Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire.”
EASA’s bulletin about Lebanon concluded that there are “limited mitigating factors” for aircraft operators because “the state concerned has not demonstrated full capability to address existing airspace risks by implementing an efficient approach to airspace deconfliction.”
While acknowledging the efforts of Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority so far to mitigate risks to civil aviation through tactical deconfliction, EASA said that “the current intensity of the conflict represents an overall high risk to civil aviation.”
Since EASA issued the new CZIBs, the IDF launched air attacks on Houthi forces in Yemen and also at what it said are Iran-backed forces in Syria. Senior Iranian officials have repeatedly signaled their intention to retaliate against Israel for the killings of senior Hezbollah and Hamas leaders, as well as officers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.
According to security analysts from Osprey Flight Solutions, aircraft operators need to remain alert to short-notice airspace closures. In addition to Israel and Lebanon, the group said risks to aviation safety extend across Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and the Gulf states.