China reroutes all planes flying over Ukraine after Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash

BEIJING: All Chinese airlines today rerouted their flights to avoid flying through eastern Ukraine following the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane that was shot down over the war-torn region.

China's civil aviation authority said that it has ordered all Chinese aircraft flying over Ukraine to avoid airspace over that area.

Related airspace of Ukraine has been shut down after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed, state-run Xinhua news agency learned from the Civil Aviation Administration of China ( CAAC).

Chinese airlines operate 28 round-trip flights each week which fly over eastern Ukraine, though there are no regular flights between Ukraine and China, according to the CAAC.

China Eastern Airlines issued a statement saying that, given the regional security situation in Ukraine, it has rerouted its only flight over this area from today.

China Southern Airlines said none of its flights to Amsterdam, Paris, London, Frankfurt and Moscow fly through Ukraine national airspace and all its European flights are operating normally.

Air China likewise said it has no flights going through the area.

The Boeing 777 jetliner with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board crashed yesterday after being shot down by a missile in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border, killing all on board.