Iraq overflights

[DPWN]

I note that it is becoming common practice for some of the bigger carriers (BA/KLM/Gulf Air etc) to use the Iraq overfly routes when routing between the Middle East and Europe.

We know the reasons for this which have been discussed before. However I was just curious to know the alternats that are flight planned when traveling, more or less direct, north to south across Iraq.

I imagine Kuwait to be the main diversion airfield but what if there is an immediate emergency such as de-pressurization or control issue etc. requiring the crew to think about getting on the ground asap, where are the likley airfields going to be?

[None]

There are several places on the globe where overflights are accomplished similar to Iraq. There are specific company rules concerning recommended actions in the event of an emergency in these areas.

In general, these areas are treated as if flying over the middle of an ocean. Over the mid-Atlantic, it might take 90 minutes to get to the nearest suitable airport. The same can be said for these other areas. While there are airports right under the nose, they are not generally considered to be usable.

Concerning terrain and depressurization, company has specific routes for this contingency programmed into the FMS covering each leg of the overflight.

[DVR6K]

Read in an aviation magazine ages ago about the policy of Kuwait Airways with regards overflying Iraq.

Basically, they nominate suitable alternates in Turkey and Iran and should there be a problem, divert into one of those. None of the airfields are more than a certain flying time (forget how long) from any point along the route in and out of Kuwait / Europe.

[WHBM]

Surely there is a difference in that if you get, say, a depressurisation mid-ocean you can descend to 10,000 feet and divert to the nearest point, no real problem. Over Iraq this would bring you within range of those on the ground and their hostile equipment. You may think that it is very unlikely that they would chance to be ready for you, but of course there would have been a whole lot of chit-chat on open frequencies about the problem, saying you were coming.

[None]

WHBM,

The tailored "escape" routes, more commonly referred to as "bailout routes", direct the route, the airspeed, and the altitude for that particular location on the globe. The selected route changes along with the jet's geographic position. There are locations where the minimum altitude is high enough that we are required to upload additional supplemental oxygen for that particular city pair.

As you correctly point out, there are times where it would be a considerable amount of time before we would be able to descend to the desired altitude.

[Check 6]

Everything you ever wanted to know regarding Iraq over-flights (http://ramcc.dtic.mil/iraq.htm)

Check 6

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