MAS defends MH004 flight route over war-torn Syria

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines has defended itself after confirming that it diverted a London to Kuala Lumpur flight over Syrian airspace when its usual route over Ukraine was closed after last Thursday's MH17 crash.
In a statement on its website, MAS said flight MH004 from Kuala Lumpur to London that flew over Syrian airspace on July 20 at 1.20pm local time was in airspace approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) .
"MH004's flight plan is in accordance to ICAO's approved routes. As per the notice to airmen (Notam) issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, the Syrian airspace was not subject to restrictions," it said.
"Malaysia Airlines maintains that safety of its passengers and crew is of utmost priority," it added.
MAS issued the statement in response to a statement by flight tracker Flightradar24 on its Twitter account on Monday, which showed the change in the flight's route. (https://twitter.com/flightradar24/status/491125734929629184)
The tweet noted that "Malaysia Airlines flight MH4 (Airbus A380) flew over Syria today".
"As far as we have seen #MH4 was the only transcontinental flight going over Syria," it said on a separate tweet on its @flightradar24 Twitter account.
This came after MH17 was shot down last Thursday in eastern Ukraine, killing some 283 passengers and 15 crew onboard.
It is reported that the airlines had began avoiding the airspace, where the Ukrainian military has been fighting with Russian-backed rebels.