Joyce says lessons to be learnt from MH17

Joyce says lessons to be learnt from MH17

The shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine shows security information needs to be shared among all airlines, the head of Qantas says.

Several airlines had decided to avoid the airspace over Ukraine before flight MH17 was shot down with a Russian made-missile on July 27 last year, killing all 298 people aboard, including 38 Australian residents and citizens.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce says the disaster highlights the need for all airlines to have equal access to the best information on security risks.

“I think more could have been done to share the information and intelligence to ensure that the operation of aircraft was safe over that path,” he told the National Press Club on Wednesday.

“Some airlines were not flying over that part of Ukraine because they had the assessment and the security information to say that wasn’t an appropriate thing to do.”

Qantas does not typically fly over Ukraine, and weeks before the MH17 disaster decided it would not based on the information it had, Mr Joyce said.

The airline continuously assesses safety risks on its flight paths, he said, and its route between Dubai and London that passes over the Middle East will be shifted if necessary.

“If there was a problem and it it does turn into a problem, Qantas will not be flying aircraft through that airspace, but the information that we have is it is safe to do so,” Joyce said.

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]

  • Luxury

Malolo Island Resort opens brand new Spa

Fiji’s Malolo Island has added another string to its bow – opening its $1.3 million day spa on Thursday, 18th April 2024. (Lead Image: matriarch Rosie Whitton with spa staff) Located at the edge of the resort’s luscious patch of tropical rainforest, the new “Leilani’s Spa” adds another level of elevated experiences to Malolo’s already […]