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At least two European airlines suspended flight services to Middle East cities on Friday, January 23, with Air France citing the “geopolitical situation” in the region.

According to the news agency AFP, Dutch airline KLM has also halted its flights to cities in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Israel, adding that it will not fly in the airspace of other countries in the region, including Iran and Iraq.

Air France informed that it made the changes “due to the current situation in the Middle East,” and that it has decided to “temporarily suspend its service to Dubai.”

“Air France is monitoring the situation in real time and will provide further updates on its flight schedule,” the French airline was quoted by the news agency as saying.

Meanwhile, KLM told the Netherlands’ public broadcaster NOS on Friday that it halted flights to Dubai, Tel Aviv, Dammam and Riyadh and that it would not be flying through the airspace of Israel, Iraq, Iran and other Gulf countries.

KLM, however, did not state the reason for the suspension and said it was in touch with Dutch authorities.

On Thursday, January 22, US President Donald Trump announced that a US “armada” was on its way to the Gulf and that Washington was closely monitoring Iran, while severely downplaying the prospect of military action.

“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said.

The US military assets include the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and associated warships traveling with it from the South China Sea.

A US Navy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to the Associated Press to discuss military movements, said Thursday, January 22, that the Lincoln strike group is currently in the Indian Ocean.