MH17 was flying in approved space
Eurocontrol, the umbrella organisation for air traffic control in Europe, said MH17 had been flying at 33,000 feet when it disappeared from radar at about 1.30pm local time.
On July 14, the Ukrainian authorities issued a ban on passenger jets flying below 32,000 feet over eastern Ukraine, after some military aircraft were attacked at relatively low altitudes, said a Eurocontrol spokesman.
However, the spokesman said airlines had been free to operate their aircraft above 32,000 over eastern Ukraine, as was the case with MH17.
The Ukrainian authorities have responded to the MH17 crash by prohibiting flights at any height over eastern Ukraine. Eurocontrol said it was rejecting “all flight plans that are filed [by airlines] using these routes [over eastern Ukraine]”.
This will have an impact about 300 flights each day over eastern Ukraine, many of them long-haul operations between Europe and Asia.
Eurocontrol has convened a crisis group of air traffic controllers from across Europe to determine how to deal with the impact of the air space closure in eastern Ukraine.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it was in contact with US carriers following the MH17 crash, adding airlines had voluntarily agreed not to operate in air space near the Russian-Ukraine border.
A spokesman for the UK Civil Aviation Authority said the Ukrainian authorities were responsible for managing their airspace and Britain and other countries could not enforce restrictions in the area.
In April, US regulators ordered US airlines to avoid flying over Crimea after Russia assumed control of the territory, but the instructions did not cover eastern Ukraine. UK regulators issued similar advice to UK airlines.