Air Malta reroutes Moscow flights

Following the recent developments in Ukraine, with immediate effect and as a precautionary measure, Air Malta will be re-routing its flights to Moscow to avoid flying over Ukrainian airspace.

Ukrainian and Russian authorities are blaming one another for the attack on the Air Malaysia passenger plane, which saw a surface-to-air missile fired at the Boeing 777 over eastern Ukraine. Rescuers have recovered as many as 181 bodies so far.

Air Malta said the safety and security of its crews and passengers were its first priority.

The areas currently restricted for civil aviation are in east Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula. However, airspace in western Ukraine remains open and several European scheduled airlines continue to operate to Kiev and other destinations in Ukraine.