USA INFORMS CROATIAN GOVERNMENT OF TRAFFIC REGIME IN NEAR EAST

ZAGREB, March 21 (Hina) - The Croatian government has received a special notice from the USA for maritime companies and airlines regarding activities in the air and on the sea in the Near East, the Croatian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday. #L# According to the notice, territorial air space over Iraq is closed until further notice for all non-Coalition aircraft, except for medical, firefighting, rescue and humanitarian flights approved by the central command. The notice also states that a series of flights by almost all international airlines have been cancelled and they have been explicitly banned from entering high-altitude airspace strata over Iraq under the threat of being taken down. Flight routes have been "shifted" north and south of Cyprus, Syria and Iraq. (hina) sp rml sb