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FAA Bans Flights Over Iraq Amid Airstrikes

FAA bans flights over Iraq as President Obama orders airstrikes on Islamic militants in the area.
Image: American Airlines plane
A US Airways jet passes an American Airlines jet with the company's new tail logo at O'Hare Airport on December 9, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. American Airlines announced today that it had completed a merger deal with US Airways. The deal will make American Airlines the world's largest airline, flying about 6,700 flights per day. Scott Olson / Getty Images, file

The FAA announced a ban on Friday for U.S. flights over Iraq. The Notice-to-Airmen extends to all U.S air carriers and commercial operators. "Due to the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict between militants associated with the Islamic state in Iraq and the Levant and Iraqi security forces and their allies, all flight operations in the Baghdad flight information region...are prohibited until further advised." Earlier on Friday, President Barack Obama ordered airstrikes against ISIS militants in the area. On July 31st the FAA had banned air travel over Iraq below 30,000 feet, superseding a previous ban on flight below 20,000 feet.

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