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发帖数: 8463 | 1 http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/ukraine-responsible-for
July 20, 2014
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Jamie Freed
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/aviation/ukraine-responsible-for-airspace-safety-iata-20140720-zuzmp.html#ixzz388A8IY5O
Ukraine responsible for airspace safety: IATA
MH17 memorial at Dutch church
Hundreds of mourners attend a memorial service in Den Bosch in the southern
Netherlands to remember the victims of Malaysia Airline flight MH17.
Autoplay ONOFFVideo feedbackVideo settingsFull MH17 coverage
Ukraine bears responsibility for keeping its airspace open to flights like
the doomed MH17, says the chief executive of the International Air Transport
Association, Tony Tyler.
“Airlines depend on governments and air traffic control authorities to
advise which air space is available for flight, and they plan within those
limits,” he said.
A graphic from Der Spiegel showing that Malaysia Airlines was not alone in
flying over the trouble zone.
“It is very similar to driving a car. If the road is open, you assume that
it is safe. If it’s closed you find an alternate route.”
However, an industry source said in this case, the “road” was more like a
toll road, as the cash-strapped Ukrainian government was receiving
overflight fees for each commercial flight above its territory and therefore
had a financial incentive to keep the airspace open as long as possible.
Three days before MH17 was apparently shot down by a surface-to-air missile,
Ukraine had raised the minimum altitude open for commercial flights over
the eastern part of its country to 32,000 feet, from 26,000 feet previously
after a military cargo jet was downed at 21,000 feet.
Tributes to MH17 victims at the Netherlands Embassy in Kiev.
The Malaysian Transport Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, said on Saturday that the
pilot had requested to fly at 35,000 feet over Ukraine’s airspace but was
told by air traffic control to fly at 33,000 feet.
It is unclear, however, whether flying at a slightly higher altitude would
have made any difference in this case as the BUK missile system that
allegedly shot down MH17 can hit targets with an altitude of up to 75,000
feet.
A graphic compiled by German magazine Der Spiegel with data from
FlightRadar24 showed Malaysia Airlines was not alone in flying over eastern
Ukrainian airspace in the week before MH17 was shot down.
Despite the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, Russian national carrier Aeroflot
flew over the area 86 times, while Singapore Airlines did so the second
most at 75 times. Other carriers that used the airspace included Lufthansa,
Thai Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad Airways.
However, British Airways, Air France and Cathay Pacific were among the major
carriers noticeably absent from that routing.
The Emirates president, Tim Clark, said MH17 had “changed everything” for
his airline.
“We will no longer rest on protocols we had in place that we honestly
thought were safe,” he told the Wall Street Journal.
Owen Zupp, the author of The Pilots Blog, said Malaysia Airlines and others
had been within their rights to fly over eastern Ukraine given it had been
deemed safe to fly by IATA and the International Civil Aviation Organisation.
“However, some of the factors to be considered were undoubtedly the
restricted airspace below the route and the reason for that restriction and
the warnings that had been issued regarding operations in the region,” he
said.
“These warnings had prompted other airlines to avoid the Ukraine airspace.
There is also the apparent shooting down of other aircraft in the area and
the feasibility of flying alternate routes.”
Mr Zupp said there were undoubtedly real threats to consider prior to the
loss of MH17.
“That flight through the area may have been legal, but one must wonder
whether it was prudent?” |
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