Amid escalating conflict in West Asia, aviation watchdog DGCA on Thursday asked airlines to avoid nine airspaces in the region and ensure robust contingency plans as part of safety risk assessments. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked airlines to avoid the airspaces of Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to an advisory. Indian airlines can operate flights over Oman and Saudi Arabia airspaces subject to certain conditions, the regulator said. It told the airlines not to operate below FL 320 or 32,000 feet within the airspace of Saudi Arabia and Oman located south of the segments defined by following compulsory reporting points. About the nine airspaces, the DGCA asked airlines to "refrain from operating within the affected airspace...at all flight levels and altitudes". Any continued operations would be at the discretion of the operator based on their safety risk assessment, it added. "Operati