Bangkok Desk, Jan 8 (EFE).- The flag carriers of Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan said Wednesday they would divert flights over Iran's airspace in face of its escalating tensions with the United States.

Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and China Airlines were among various carriers who announced they would stop flying through Iran on the same day Tehran attacked a military base in Iraq housing US troops.

"In view of the latest developments in the region, all [Singapore Airlines] flights in and out of Europe will not be flying over the Iranian airspace. We will continue to monitor the situation closely," the Singaporean carrier said in a Wednesday statement to EFE.

It was confirmed that the airline's low-cost subsidiary Scoot would also avoid Iran. Developments came shortly after the United States Federal Aviation Authority banned US airlines from overflying Iraq, Iran, the Gulf of Oman and the waters between Iran and Saudi Arabia, following days of escalating tensions in the Middle East.

The conflict between Tehran and Washington was further fueled Friday following the killing of Qasem Soleimani, a top general of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

After Wednesday's missile attack, Malaysia Airlines released a statement announcing its intentions to avoid Iran's airspace.

"Malaysia Airlines does not fly over the airspace of Iraq on its flights to/from London, Jeddah and Medina. Due to recent events involving Iran, Malaysia Airlines will be avoiding the conflict airspace of Iran," the airline said. "Safety is of utmost importance to Malaysia Airlines."

The airline is among the more cautious carriers following high-profile incidents that marred its operations last decade, including a March 2014 flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur which was struck by a missile while cruising over eastern Ukraine during the ongoing War in Donbass.

The attack on flight MH17 killed all 298 people on board, only four months after Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the Southern Indian Ocean with 239 passengers on board.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's national carrier, China Airlines, said it would avoid both Iraqi and Iranian airspace.

"In light of the events in the region, all China Airlines flights bound to Europe will not overfly neither the Iranian nor Iraqi airspace. We will continue to attentively monitor the situation and will adjust the flights in consequence," a spokesperson for the carrier said in a statement.

Earlier on Wednesday, a Ukranian International Airlines Boeing 737 carrying 176 people crashed and killed everyone on board after taking off from Iran's Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, according to the Middle Eastern country's emergency organization. EFE

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