SYDNEY: Australian airline Qantas will continue flying over Iraqi airspace, despite alliance partner Emirates deciding to alter its routes over concerns about missile attacks following the MH17 crash.
Qantas said while it no longer flew over Syria or Ukraine over fears their airspace could be “unsafe”, “there is no information to suggest that there is risk to commercial aircraft passing over Iraq, particularly at the altitudes we fly”.
“Qantas is one of many airlines that currently fly over parts of Iraq en route to Europe,” the airline’s chief pilot, Dick Tobiano, said.
The carrier said its average altitude over the region was about 38,000 to 41,000 feet, far exceeding the US Federal Aviation Administration’s recommendation. AFP