Air India to reroute flights away from Iranian airspace

Air India will reroute flights to avoid Iranian air space, an official said yesterday, as tensions ratchet up following Tehran's downing of a US drone. A spokesman for the country's biggest state-run carrier said it was told to alter its flight paths by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) -- the aviation regulator. Yesterday's decision means Indian commercial and cargo flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, as well as the US, will have to take lengthy and costly detours. Major airlines around the world have already said they would suspend their flights over Iranian airspace.