US airlines to stay off Ukraine-Russia border

Washington, July 18: US airlines have voluntarily agreed not to fly in the airspace near the Ukraine-Russia border, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed Thursday.

"The FAA was in contact with US carriers following the crash of Malaysian Air Flight 17," Xinhua quoted the agency as saying in a statement, hours after the Malaysian flight with 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board crashed in Ukraine near the Russian border.

"The FAA is monitoring the situation to determine whether further guidance is necessary," the agency added.

In April, the FAA issued a notice prohibiting U.S. flights to operate in the airspace over the Crimean region of Ukraine and near the Black Sea "due to the continuing potential for instability." However, this notice did not cover the airspace where the Malaysian plane went down.

The Malaysian passenger jet that crashed near the Ukraine- Russia border was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, according to US media.

IANS