Risk Level: One - Do Not Fly Iraq is an active conflict zone. Local and foreign military continue to fight against an armed insurgency that has existed since 2017. There is a high risk to civil aircraft. Iraqi airspace (ORBB/Baghdad FIR) should be avoided entirely.

As of early 2026, flying over Iraq and Syria is still categorized as high-risk by major aviation safety bodies like EASA and the FAA. While several airlines have cautiously reintroduced certain high-altitude routes following local ceasefires, the general advisory remains to avoid these flight information regions (FIRs) whenever possible. The primary threats include "short-notice military activity," such as missile tests or airstrikes, and the prevalence of GPS jamming and spoofing that can feed false positional data to an aircraft's flight deck. Most Western carriers reroute around this airspace entirely, adding significant time and fuel costs to journeys between Europe and Asia. For a 2026 traveler, your flight's safety is managed through rigorous "Safety Management Systems" (SMS); if your airline is flying through these zones, they have determined that the specific high-altitude corridor being used is currently protected and monitored by international authorities.