A British Airways plane made a dramatic turn to avoid Iraq after Iran fired more than a dozen missiles at air bases used by US troops.
Flight maps show the Boeing 777 – flying from Mumbai to London – circling back just minutes before it was due to fly over Iraq.
The jet – which has a capacity for more than 200 passengers – very briefly entered Iraqi and Iranian airspace as it turned around over the Gulf and Kuwait about two hours after the attacks.
It then flew across Saudi Arabia and over Egypt and the Mediterranean as it diverted to Athens.
BA and several other airlines changed their flight paths following Iran's missile strikes in the early hours of Wednesday.
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Flights between London and Kuwait were also taking a detour around Iraq, adding time to journeys.
It is understood that a small number of BA flights overnight were diverted as a result of the situation in the Middle East.
A passenger on board diverted flight BA134, which landed in Athens in the early hours, tweeted: "BA134 landed in Athens due to airspace closure over Middle East.
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"People on Indian passport are stuck at airport as we don’t have appropriate visa to exit the airport.
"No one from BA staff is around to help and no one from Athens airport staff. Whom to contact?"
BA declined to discuss specific flight routes, but a spokeswoman said: "We are in constant contact with our partners around the world to assess the security of our routes, and will always take action where appropriate.
"We would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do so."
The diversion of the Mumbai-London flight was observed by a number of aviation experts and buffs on Twitter at about 1.20am UK time.
One Twitter user wrote: "This British Airways flight from Mumbai to London was headed over #Iraq, but then decided nope, nope, nope… #IranAttacks."
Another wrote: "British Airways took a hard F that with flying over Iraq."
A third added: "British Airways appear to be diverting aircraft away from Iraqi airspace. BA flight from Bombay to London Heathrow did a 360 just as it was about to enter Iraq. Now diverted across Saudi Arabia."
Airlines are avoiding Iraq due to the missile strikes and Iran following the crash of a Ukrainian passenger jet, which killed all 167 passengers and nine crew on board.
Three Britons were among the dead, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry.
Qassem Biniaz, a spokesman for Iran's Road and Transportation Ministry, said it appeared that a fire had started in one of the plane's engines.
The pilot then lost control of the plane, sending it crashing into the ground, he added.
German airline Lufthansa had cancelled its flights to Iran and Iraq following the missile strikes and the air disaster.
The Federal Aviation Administration has banned US carriers from the region.
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