THE HAGUE, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Dutch airlines KLM followed the example of airlines from the United States by avoiding flights over the Strait of Hormuz, the company announced in a press release on Friday.
The measure is the result of the shooting down of a U.S. drone on Wednesday by an Iranian air defense system.
According to the United States, the RQ-4A Global Hawk flew in international airspace at the time, but Iran claimed the drone had crossed Iranian borders in the southern part of the country.
The downing led to rising tensions between the two countries.
"Safety is the top priority for KLM," KLM stated. "The incident with the drone is reason not to fly over the Strait of Hormuz for the time being. This is a precautionary measure."
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday issued an emergency order prohibiting American airlines from flying in Iran-controlled airspace over the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has not issued a similar order over the drone incident.
