Days after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down in Ukraine by pro-Russian separatists, it was revealed that another Malaysia Airlines plane MH4 had diverted its path from Ukraine to Syrian airspace. The plane was flying from London to Kuala Lumpur when it flew over Syria.

These recent incidents have prompted governments and airline companies to seriously reconsider the safety of flight paths across the globe.

The countries you should avoid

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US has prohibited flights to Ethiopia, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Somalia and Ukraine. It also restricted flights in and out of Israel, but that ban has since been lifted. Potentially hostile regions also include Afghanistan, Congo, Egypt, Iran, Kenya, Mail, Syria and Yemen.

It's worth noting that conflicts on the ground don’t necessarily pose a threat to the skies above.

Emirates recently announced it will stop flying over Iraq due to concerns over jihadist missile attacks following the MH17 air disaster in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Qantas has reassured passengers that it's still safe to fly over Iraq, despite network partner Emirates' deciding to steer clear of the conflict-torn nation.

"We regularly review our flight paths and make any adjustments we consider prudent," the company said in a statement.

"There is no suggestion that flying over Iraq is unsafe for commercial airlines, particularly given the cruising altitude that most, including Qantas, maintain. "We will continue to monitor the situation, with safety as our

top priority."

Qantas says its average flight level over this space is around 38,000 feet to 41,000 feet.

Unlike the US, the Australian government doesn’t prohibit flight paths, but it does issue travel advice and warnings.

The government has strongly advised against any travel to the following countries

Should individual airlines decide what flight paths are safe?

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesperson told SBS the decision to fly over a warzone is ultimately up to the airlines.

“It is up to air operators to ensure a flight can be conducted safely – which is no different from managing other risks such as changing weather or volcanic ash. If passengers are concerned they should talk to the airline.”

But Hugh Dunleavy, commercial director at troubled Malaysia Airlines, said individual airlines could not be expected to make decisions on which volatile regions are secure to fly over.

He has also called for the creation of a new organisation to decide which flight paths are safe in the wake of the MH17 tragedy in Ukraine.

Despite flying over a conflict zone, MH17's flight path had been approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Ukrainian authorities and the European airspace service provider Eurocontrol, Mr Dunleavy said.

Writing in Britain's Sunday Telegraph, he called for airlines and existing aviation bodies to "review existing processes and set more stringent standards".

"Ultimately, we need one body to be the arbiter of where we can fly," he said.

"This tragedy has taught us that despite following the guidelines and advice set out by the governing bodies, the skies above certain territories are simply not safe.

"MH17 has shown us that airlines can no longer rely on existing industry bodies for this information."

He said that airlines were businesses and should no longer bear the responsibility of deeming flight paths safe or unsafe.

"It is not reasonable for us to assess all of the issues going on in all of the regions in the world, and determine a safe flight path," he said.

"For the sake of passenger and crew safety we need to insist on a higher level of authority."

World aviation chiefs will meet on Tuesday to discuss issues surrounding the downing of MH17 over Ukraine. At the talks in Canada, the whole question of airline routing over war-torn areas will be discussed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the International Air Transport Association.

What you can do

If you are concerned about your flight, you can use online tools like flighttrader24.com or flightaware.com to check what flight path your airline will be using. However, flight plans typically aren't loaded until an hour or two before a flight, and change all the time.

If you are on a connecting flight, check to see if it’s a codeshare flight (i.e. a flight that’s shared by two different airline carriers). For example, MH17 was a codeshare flight for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL4103.

Contact your airline to check that they’re not flying over a conflict zone.

Check the safety records of airliners via websites like airsafe.com, which offers airline-by-airline and model-by-model information on fatal plane crashes and other fatal events. It also shows crashes by regions of the world. Aviation-safety.net, a service of the Flight Safety Foundation, lists recent safety problems, offers information on emergency exits and other safety information, and has a database of safety issues stretching back to 1921.

It's also a good idea to see if a carrier is a member of the International Air Transport Association, the trade association for the world's airlines. If they're not, they might not have met the group's safety standards.

Visit smarttraveller.gov.au for the latest travel warnings and advice.

- with AAP





