MAS crew, pilots raised concerns over war zone route

National Union of Flight Attendants in Malaysia said yesterday that serious questions needed to be asked about how the passenger jet was allowed to fly over the war zone.

LONDON: Two MAS cabin crew swapped shifts so they would not be on the doomed Malaysian airliner downed by a missile in eastern Ukraine, after raising concerns about the safety of flying over the war zone.

Other senior pilots and cabin crew had flagged up fears about the flightpath in the weeks leading up to the tragedy, although Malaysia Airlines last night denied ignoring crew concerns.

Some staff are reported to have refused to fly over the airspace where the passenger airliner was downed because they deemed it to be too volatile and dangerous, especially after two Ukrainian planes, a fighter jet and a transport aircraft, were shot down by rebels.

According to well-placed Malaysia Airlines sources, at least two cabin crew swapped shifts so they would not be on MH17, specifically because they were worried about the flightpath.

The Mail on Sunday has been told worried pilots consulted air traffic controllers in Malaysia and also made an informal approach to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). But still Malaysia Airlines did not divert the route, unlike other carriers.

British Airways as well as all US airlines, Lufthansa, Air France and Qantas, were already avoiding the war zone in Ukraine, adding an extra 20 minutes’ flight time, and there is growing pressure on Malaysia Airlines to explain why it did not follow suit.

Ismail Nasaruddin, the president of the National Union of Flight Attendants in Malaysia said yesterday that serious questions needed to be asked about how the passenger jet was allowed to fly over the war zone.

Nasaruddin, who said that he was not aware of any union members who had raised concerns about flying in the airspace, added: ‘We are very angry and upset that this has happened. The International Civil Aviation Organisation had given the green light for aircraft to fly over that airspace above 32,000ft and other airlines were doing so.