SOME of the world’s leading carriers including British Airways (BA), Qantas and Singapore Airlines on Friday suspended flights over the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran-US tensions flared over the downing of a drone.

The suspensions affected thousands of passengers and came after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), “prohibiting US-registered aircraft from operating over the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman”.

The NOTAM was in response to “heightened military activities and increased political tensions that might place commercial flights at risk”, an FAA statement said, as Tehran and Washington engaged in a war of words over Thursday’s missile strike on the drone.

FAA’s notice applied only to US-registered airlines, and United Airlines said it was suspending its Newark-Mumbai service in response.

But European, Asian and Gulf operators were taking no chances.

“Our safety and security team are constantly liaising with authorities – including the likes of the FAA – around the world as part of their comprehensive risk assessment into every route we operate,” a BA spokeswoman said.

Germany’s Lufthansa and Dutch airline KLM followed suit in bypassing the Hormuz area, although Air France said it was already flying farther south.

Dubai-based Emirates said it had rerouted flights to avoid “areas of possible conflict” while Abu Dhabi’s Etihad announced it had “agreed to change a number of the flight paths” operating over the Gulf.

Iran’s downing of the drone – which Washington insists was above international waters but Iran says was within its airspace – has seen tensions between the two countries spike after a series of attacks on tanker ships blamed by the US on Tehran.

The Global Hawk surveillance aircraft can attain a maximum altitude of 18,000m, nearly double the typical cruising height of a passenger plane.

KLM said: “The incident with the drone is reason not to fly over the Strait of Hormuz for the time being. This is a precautionary measure.”