Air traffic 'silence' at KLIA to honour victims of MH17 tragedy

PUTRAJAYA: The KL International Airport (KLIA) is to be without any movement of other aeroplanes when the special aircraft flies in with the remains of several Malaysian victims of the Flight MH17 tragedy on Friday, said Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.
The other aircraft would be observing two minutes of silence then, he said.
The aircraft bringing the remains from Amsterdam is expected to arrive at the Bunga Raya Complex of the airport at about 10am.
Azharuddin said the short period of the absence of movement of aircraft would not cause any undue delay in the flight schedules or have a major impact on air traffic movement at KLIA.
"Usually, KLIA will be busy at that time. However, the two minutes of silence will not adversely affect air traffic movement or the flight schedules," he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) senior general manager (operations) Datuk Azmi Murad said MAHB would adhere to the arrangements made by the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) which would carry out the ceremony to honour the victims.
The Bunga Raya Complex ground would be the location of the first honour ceremony handled by the MAF for civilians. Aug 22 has been declared a Day of National Mourning.
Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country. – Bernama