- Airspace was closed for nearly five hours
- Missile and drone barrages are a risk to air traffic
- Air India, IndiGo among carriers affected by airspace closure
Iran reopened its airspace after a near-five-hour closure amid concerns about possible military action between the U.S. and Iran that forced airlines to cancel, reroute or delay some flights.
Iran closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET (2215 GMT) on Wednesday, according to a notice on the US Federal Aviation Administration website.
The notice was removed shortly before 10 p.m. ET, or 0300 GMT, according to tracking service Flightradar24, which showed five flights from Iranian carriers Mahan Air, Yazd Airways and AVA Airlines were among the first to resume over the country.
At a similar time last week to the airspace closure there had been dozens of planes in the air over Iran, Flightradar24 said.
The temporary closure came as President Donald Trump has been weighing a response to the situation in Iran, which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.
The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a U.S. official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic.
India's largest airline, IndiGo said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran's sudden airspace closure. Air India said its flights were using alternative routes that could result in delays or cancellations.