By Jacob K Philip
The news that Italy and Spain have imposed restrictions on the passage of planes participating in the US war against Iran, and that Austria has rejected Trump’s demand to open its airspace, has led to the perception that the whole of Europe is gradually turning against the Middle East war.
However, the fact is that there has been no new restriction from Europe that would cause any significant inconvenience to the United States since the war began on February 28. It is just that Switzerland and Austria have never given permission to any country’s warplanes in the past, and they still do not.
Although Italy and France have recently started saying that they have imposed restrictions, in reality that has not caused any significant disruption to US military aircraft movements.
The skies of the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Romania, Greece, Ireland, Finland and Sweden are still open.
Though the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia and Slovenia say they allow military aircraft to fly over their airspace only under certain conditions, tracking sites show defense aircraft of all hues and colours flying freely through their skies to the Middle East.
Unlike these countries, Austria and Switzerland have very different reasons for keeping fighter jets out.
After World War II, to regain its sovereignty, Austria, which was occupied by the Allies (the US, the Soviet Union, the UK and France), had to agree to the condition that it would remain a neutral, non-aligned country like Switzerland. It is still not a member of NATO and does not allow foreign military bases because of this treaty.
So Austrian leaders could not have allowed US warplanes to fly over their airspace even if they had wanted to.
The neutrality policy of Switzerland, located in the heart of Europe, was decided by the European countries of Austria, Russia, Prussia, the UK and France at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 after the fall of Napoleon. They strictly keep any aircraft involved in the Iranian attack away from their airspace, with the exception of non-war-related transport aircraft, not because the war is not ethical, but to comply with the Vienna Congress.
Just as I had written before, Italy’s recent aversion to US warplanes is nothing more than a drama to satisfy the growing anti-war and anti-Trump sentiment in the country. Planes carrying personnel and supplies to the war still have no difficulty landing at and taking off from Italian air bases through the many loopholes in its regulations.
Although France’s Macron has stated that he does not believe that the Strait of Hormuz can be opened through military action and that he should not heed Trump’s call to join the US in a war against Iran, the fact is that the skies of France, a NATO member, are always open to US military aircraft.
Then there is Spain.
Although Spain has been speaking out against the war in recent times, the fact is that there is still no significant obstacle for US military aircraft to land at the US naval base in Rota and the Morón Air Base and fly to the Middle East. Although it is stated that aircraft carrying weapons and attack aircraft directly related to the war will not be allowed, as in the case of Italy, these policies are also very flexible and can be relaxed if necessary.
Beyond creating an impression that Europe’s skies are not open enough for warplanes to fly, the anti-war statements of the European countries are of not much significance.
Now, the reason why Trump has repeatedly asked Austria to forget about the old treaty and open up the skies:
It is all about money and time.
If Austria, which is located in the middle of the flight path from US military bases in Europe to the Middle East, were to be avoided, it would mean flying 300–500 kilometres more each way. This means that the flight time of military tankers and transport aircraft would be 20–45 minutes longer. In the case of tanker aircraft, this means 2–4 tons more fuel would be burned. And it is not a handful of aircraft that fly along this corridor day and night to the Middle East.
Whatever it is, don’t forget that Trump is ultimately a businessman with a clear sense of profit and loss.
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Jacob K Philip is the Editor of Aviation India/Indian Aviation News Net. He can be reached at jacob@indianaviationnews.net
