Austria has denied the US access to its airspace for military operations against Iran, the country's Ministry of Defense announced. The reason cited was the country's neutrality law, writes UNN with reference to ORF.
Details
A ministry spokesperson did not provide details on the number of requests, stating only that there were several. Individual cases are considered in consultation with the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) called on the government to maintain its position. "Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner must not allow any US military flights towards the Persian Gulf. This applies to transport flights and other logistical support. Just as Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland are doing. This war harms Austrian economic interests, Europe as a whole, and peace worldwide," said Sven Hergovich, head of the SPÖ in Lower Austria.
On Monday, the Spanish government closed its airspace to military flights due to the conflict with Iran. Italy also denied several American planes landing at a base in Sicily.
Neutral Switzerland also denied airspace for US military flights to Iran, Swissinfo reported earlier.
According to the publication, since the beginning of the Iranian conflict, the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) has approved only a third of the 12 requests from other countries for aircraft to fly over Switzerland on their way to the Middle East. Several US requests for overflights of Switzerland have been rejected by the federal government.
From March 5 to 23, 11 applications were received from the US, FOCA told Keystone-SDA. Four of them were approved, and one request was withdrawn by the US. Most applications were received on March 13, all five of which concerned flights on March 15. One application came from the United Arab Emirates and was also rejected.
According to FOCA, requests for passage through Swiss airspace are approved only if they are "clearly not related to the conflict," but are limited to humanitarian and medical purposes, including the transport of the wounded. Requests related to armed conflicts would be rejected in accordance with the neutrality law.