SriLankan Airlines has decided to avoid air spaces of Iran and Iraq when flying between Colombo and London.

The Airline said the decision was made as a precautionary measure that there is an imminent threat of escalation of war.

The decision was announced following a Boeing 737 plane carrying 180 passengers and crew crashed shortly after takeoff from Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran early Wednesday.

The official statements said the Ukranian Airlines plane crashed due to technical difficulties.