Malaysia Airlines MH17: Plane Flew Over War Zone Despite Serious Warnings

An Emergencies Ministry member walks through the burnt wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 planeReuters

The Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was brought down by a surface-to-air missile, flew over Ukraine despite warnings for international airlines about the war zone. Pilots were advised to avoid the war-torn area three months ago.

Cheaper costs associated with a shorter route might have prompted the airline to take the risky route, according to aviation experts.

The route near or via the Ukraine airspace has been one of the busiest with about 300 flights per day. Airlines going from Europe to Asian destinations such as Singapore and Malaysia prefer the route because it is the quickest and cheapest for them.

A number of airlines continued to fly over Ukraine, but at a safe altitude, despite high-level warnings. Immediately after the crash on 17 July, four more airliners followed the same path and did not re-route. The flights belonged to Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Kazakhstan Airlines and Etihad.

"Malaysia Airlines, like a number of other carriers, has been continuing to use it because it is a shorter route, which means less fuel and therefore less money," the Daily Telegraph quoted Norman Shanks, a former head of group security at airports group BAA, as saying.

In addition, operators believed that they were at a sufficient altitude not to be at risk of attack, and continued to cross the battle-hit region, the newspaper added. The Malaysian Airlines jet was reportedly flying at an altitude of about 33,000 feet, which is regarded as completely safe in the industry.

"The belief was that a plane could not be shot down at that altitude, which is why aircraft continue to fly over zones that have wars going on," an industry source told the newspaper.

Following the incident, Virgin Atlantic said it had diverted a small number of flights, while Turkish Airlines said all of its flights would now avoid Ukrainian airspace.

Airlines including Italy's Alitalia, Lufthansa, Air France and the Russian carriers Aeroflot, and Transaero also diverted their flights.