flight Plan over Syria Approved – Malaysian Airlines
AMSTERDAM – INTERNATIONAL NEWS – Malaysian Airlines is responding to concerns raised over one of its airliner’s flight paths over Syria on July 20th.
This statement is to clarify the misunderstanding caused by a tweet from Flightradar24 on Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH004 from Kuala Lumpur to London that flew over Syrian airspace on 20 July 2014 at 1:20pm local time.
MH004’s flight plan is in accordance to International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) approved routes. As per the notice to airmen (NOTAM) issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, the Syrian airspace was not subject to restrictions.
At all times, MH004 was in airspace approved by ICAO.
The government run airline is still reeling over the loss of Flight MH17 and earlier MH370 which is still missing.
Malaysia Airlines maintains that safety of its passengers and crew is of utmost priority.
MH 17 Has Focus on Family Members
In a media statement the company says, “Malaysia Airlines’ primary focus is to care for the family members affected by MH17. The airline will be supporting the families during these trying times and will be providing them hotel accommodation, meals, and transport assistance. At the same time, the airline has assigned caregivers (who are trained Malaysia Airlines’ staff) for each family member to provide emotional support and basic needs. To date, 79 caregivers and other support staff are in Amsterdam, whilst 43 are based in Kuala Lumpur.
“Malaysia Airlines is very grateful to be working alongside KLM, who have been assisting it in supporting the family members from the outset.
“As goodwill, to ease the immediate families of the passengers with their economic needs, the airline is also offering a financial assistance of USD5,000 to the families of each passenger. Funds have already been made available for this purpose. Citibank has supported Malaysia Airlines with the logistical arrangements for the fund transfer. This financial assistance will not be offset against the final compensation nor affect the families’ legal rights to claim.
“Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines will be organizing a multi-faith prayer session for both staff and the public at large. Further details will be advised at a later date”.
The airline requests the cooperation from members of the media to respect the privacy of the grieving families. Malaysia Airlines’ top priority remains to provide care and assistance to the families of the passengers and crew and any information with regard to their personal circumstances will not be made public.
