The aviation arms of the United Nations and the European Aviation Safety Agency, which keep watch over the European airspace, have issued the alerts on October 9 following the announcement by Russian Federation that it has fired targets in Syria from the Caspian Sea.
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EASA said it has “no specific recommendations” on the issue, and published the SIB simply “to inform airspace users about the hazard”.
Cathay said the airline already has a long-term policy not to overfly a number of war-torn countries in the Middle East including Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Syria.
This revelation follows the warning issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to companies flying over these regions, whilst Russian Federation conducts military invention in Syria against rebel positions.
The missile strikes on targets in Syria showed unprecedented cooperation between Russian Federation and Iran, but they also serve as a wakeup call to Tehran about Moscow’s expanding military profile in the Caspian.
Eurocontrol, the pan-European air traffic control agency, said in a notice to airlines Saturday that there had been no significant change in carrier’s routes within its region. Still, the incident has prompted air-safety authorities to improve the sharing of information about potential dangers to flights operating near battlefields.
Cruise missiles generally fly at extremely low altitudes of under 600 feet in order to avoid radar detection, far below the typical cruising altitude of most airliners at around 30,000 to 40,000 feet.
Australian carrier Qantas said Wednesday it had chosen not to suspend flights over the area.
‘If there was a problem, and if does turn into being a problem, Qantas will not be flying aircraft through that airspace. “But the information that we have is it is safe to do so”.
The two warnings come as Dutch investigators were set to release their report Tuesday into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July 2014 – killing all 298 people onboard.
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It did not explain why it had resumed those services.
