Iran’s Civil Aviation Authority announced the partial reopening of its airspace Saturday, saying international aircraft may now transit through the eastern section of the country’s territory.
“Air routes in the eastern section of the country’s airspace are open for international flights transiting through Iran,” the authority said, noting that certain airports had also resumed operations as of 7 a.m. local time (0330 GMT).
Despite the announcement, flight tracking data told a different story more than three hours after the declared reopening — no international flights were observed crossing Iranian airspace, with a number of carriers still routing their aircraft around the country on lengthy detours.
