Eurocontrol warns airlines of possible missile strikes into Syria

[snoop1130]

Eurocontrol warns airlines of possible missile strikes into Syria

By Jamie Freed

 

The logo of Eurocontrol, Europe's air traffic regulator, is seen on the facade of its headquarters in Brussels July 18, 2014. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

 

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Pan-European air traffic control agency Eurocontrol on Tuesday warned airlines to exercise caution in the eastern Mediterranean due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria in next 72 hours.

 

Eurocontrol said that air-to-ground and cruise missiles could be used within that period and there was a possibility of intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump and Western allies are discussing possible military action to punish Syria's President Bashar Assad for a suspected poison gas attack on Saturday on a rebel-held town that long had held out against government forces.

 

Trump on Tuesday cancelled a planned trip to Latin America later this week to focus instead on responding to the Syria incident, the White House said.

 

Trump had on Monday warned of a quick, forceful response once responsibility for the Syria attack was established.

 

The Eurocontrol warning on its website did not specify the origin of any potential missile threat.

 

"Due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria with air-to-ground and/or cruise missiles within the next 72 hours, and the possibility of intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment, due consideration needs to be taken when planning flight operations in the Eastern Mediterranean/Nicosia FIR area," it said, referring to the designated airspace.

 

Aviation regulators in countries including the United States, Britain, France and Germany have previously issued warnings against airlines entering Syrian airspace leading most carriers to avoid the area.

 

The only commercial flights above Syria as of 0115 GMT on Wednesday were being flown by Syrian Air and Lebanon's Middle East Airlines, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. At other periods later in the day there were no flights using the airspace.

 

Eurocontrol included a broader area outside the airspace controlled by Damascus in its statement.

 

A spokesman for Germany's Lufthansa said on Wednesday its airlines were aware of the Eurocontrol warning and were in close contact with authorities.

 

"As a proactive precaution, Lufthansa Group airlines have already avoided the airspace in the eastern Mediterranean for some time now," he said.

 

European budget carrier easyJet PLC has undertaken a safety and security assessment and will take precautionary measures including rerouting flights from Tel Aviv, the airline said in a statement.

 

Ryanair Holdings PLC and British Airways representatives said flights were operating normally at their respective airlines but the situation was being monitored closely.

 

Several other major airlines that fly in the area did not respond immediately to a request for comment about their flight path plans.

 

The Nicosia flight information region named in the Eurocontrol statement covers the island of Cyprus and surrounding waters, according to a map on the agency's website.

 

The same map did not designate any specific territory as being the "Eastern Mediterranean" region.

 

There has been heightened awareness by regulators and airlines of the risks that conflict zones pose to commercial jets since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was downed by a surface-to-air missile over Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people on board.

 

Last year, North Korea tested missiles without warning, leading some airlines to re-route flights to avoid portions of the Sea of Japan.

 

Eurocontrol's warning cited a document from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), Europe's safety regulator.

 

An EASA spokesman said it had informed member states and Eurocontrol of its cautionary message on Tuesday.

 

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in SINGAPORE; additional reporting by Victoria Bryan in HAMBURG, Alexander Cornwell in DUBAI, Sarah Young in LONDON and Conor Humphries in DUBLIN; Editing by Michael Perry, Robert Birsel)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-4-11

[Guest]

Well.. Let's see how the missile war turns out..

 

"BREAKING: Russia will shoot down American missiles fired at Syria, according to the Russian Ambassador to Lebanon."

 

 

 

[Guest]

And Trump's response... This really doesn't sound too good. 

 

"Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!” You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!"

 

 

This was supposed to be a fictional story, not a documentary from the future.

 

 

[dorchester]

It's all bad.Somebody's missiles are better,what if one goes stupid? and there's a big juicy airliner right there?

[Basil B]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The only commercial flights above Syria as of 0115 GMT on Wednesday were being flown by Syrian Air and Lebanon's Middle East Airlines, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24. At other periods later in the day there were no flights using the airspace.

FlightRadar24 as far as I know only tracks planes equipped with  ADS-B, many planes are still not equipped with it yet, even though it will be a mandatory requirement of all commercial flights using US airspace from 2020. 

[Basil B]

47 minutes ago, dorchester said:

It's all bad.Somebody's missiles are better,what if one goes stupid? and there's a big juicy airliner right there?

You mean like a drunk Russian missile operator??? (as per MH17) 

[KhunBENQ]

But still I doubt that any major airline would go there.

Especially after the terrible MH17 shoot down over Ukraine.

Syria, currently a big hole.

It affects about all connections to Europe with the mid east airlines.

Edited April 11, 2018 by KhunBENQ