KUALA LUMPUR: The International Air Transport Association (IATA) yesterday denied the possibility of any airline risking the safety of its passengers, crew and aircraft for the sake of fuel savings.
Its director-general and chief executive officer, Tony Tyler, said airlines depended on governments and air traffic control (ATC) authorities to advise them on which airspace was available for flights, and they planned within those limits.
“At this time, it is important we are very clear: safety is the top priority,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 had used the flight path over troubled Ukraine following a safety declaration and approval by international aviation bodies.
Liow said MAS, besides 15 other airlines in Asia Pacific, as well as European airlines, had frequently used the route.
“We would not have used this route unless there was a last-minute notice to change the route, but... there was no notice,” he said in a press conference on Friday.
Tyler said: “It is very similar to driving a car.
“If the road is open, you assume that it is safe. If it is closed, you find an alternative route.
“Civil aircraft are not military targets.
“Governments agreed (on) that in the Chicago Convention.
“And, what happened with MH17 is a tragedy for 298 souls that should not have happened in any airspace.”
MAS, on Friday, confirmed that it had received notification from Ukrainian ATC that it had lost contact with MH17 at 1415 GMT at 30km from Tamak waypoint, approximately 50km from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Meanwhile, Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Datuk Dr Ahmad Sabirin Arshad said international aviation bodies responsible for approving the flight paths of commercial aircraft should be more sensitive when it involved airspace above areas of conflict.
He said this was crucial, so that flight paths above conflict areas could be changed immediately.
As such, he said, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and IATA should have a standard operating procedure on the way flight paths could be changed immediately to avoid a recurrence of the MH17 tragedy.
Sabirin said what happened to MH17 should serve as a lesson to the two bodies, so that they would act more swiftly.
“If an aircraft passes (over) an area of conflict, the flight path should be replaced immediately for the safety of the passengers on board,” he said when appearing as a special guest on Bernama TV’s Bernama Today programme at Wisma Bernama yesterday.
Prior to this, ICAO and IATA have clarified that MH17 was not operating in restricted airspace. Bernama
