Expert: Flight bans are needed over active war zones

China's aviation authorities order aircraft to avoid Ukrainian airspace

The International Civil Aviation Organization should compel airlines to stay out of airspace that is possibly unsafe, a Chinese expert suggested.

Yue Gang, an air defense expert and former senior military officer, said the lives of the 298 people on board Malaysia Airlines MH17 could have been saved if the United Nations organization has taken necessary measures to make sure airlines avoid flying over the "problem zone".

A Boeing 777 passenger plane with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board crashed on Thursday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. There were no survivors. Though the cause of the crash remains unknown, media reports unanimously blame the tragedy on a ground-to-air missile related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"It is a shame that many airlines hadn't adjusted their routes until this tragedy despite the fact that the conflict on the ground has been going on for several months," he said.

"From now on, the ICAO and the International Air Transport Association should immediately enforce a policy that forbids all airlines from flying over conflict regions."

Meanwhile, Malaysian Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said at a Friday news conference that Malaysia Airlines received no instruction from international aviation authorities to avoid flying over Ukraine.

He added that commercial airliners from 15 Asia-Pacific countries used the same flight path taken by MH17.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said international air authorities had deemed the flight path secure.

"The aircraft's flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organization. And (the) International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China has ordered all Chinese aircraft flying over Ukraine to avoid the airspace over the area where Flight MH17 crashed.

There are 28 round-trip flights each week over the area, according to the administration.

The two major Chinese carriers, Air China and China Southern Airlines, have reassured passengers that they have no flights that cross Ukraine. China Eastern Airlines has rerouted flights between Shanghai and Rome to avoid Ukrainian air space, a spokeswoman said on Friday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has issued a notice prohibiting US airliners from flying over eastern region of Ukraine.

The FAA said the restricted area includes the entire Simferopol and Dnepropetrovsk flight information regions.

"This action expands a prohibition of US flight operations issued by the FAA in April, over the Crimean region of Ukraine and adjacent areas of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov," the FAA said in the notice.

Eurocontrol, which coordinates European air traffic control, said Ukrainian authorities have closed air routes in eastern Ukraine.

"Rerouting flights is not technically difficult but will incur higher cost for airlines," said Wang Ya'nan, deputy editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge magazine. "It is because the current paths are the shortest between the destinations and so are the most economical. New routes will be longer and use more fuel."

zhaolei@chinadaily.com.cn