European airlines continue to avoid Iran and Iraq despite airspace reopening

STORY: European airlines like Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways avoided Iraqi and Iranian airspace on Thursday (January 16).

That's according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

They instead chose routes over Afghanistan and central Asia due to risks associated with geopolitical tensions in Iran and the Middle East.

Iran closed, then reopened its airspace after nearly five hours on Wednesday.

Concerns had mounted about possible military action between the U.S. and Iran that forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay flights.

FlightRadar24 showed many carriers continued to use alternative routes despite the airspace reopening,

Particularly as experts warned the risk of further instability was still present.

Many Western airlines have changed their routings in the Middle East over the last two years.

Several fly over Afghanistan more often despite ongoing Taliban rule to avoid other more turbulent conflict zones.

On Wednesday, Germany issued a directive cautioning the country's airlines against entering Iranian airspace.

Shortly after Lufthansa changed its flight operations across the Middle East.