Biman to avoid Ukrainian airspace

Biman Bangladesh Airlines planes which usually cross eastern Ukraine to fly to Europe have been instructed to avoid the volatile Ukrainian airspace wherefrom a Malaysian jet was shot down last Thursday in a grim tragedy.
The national flag carrier operates five international flights - three on Dhaka-London route and two on Dhaka-Frankfurt route--every week crossing over the risky Ukrainian airspace.  
The Biman authorities took the decision to redirect their flight paths to avoid volatile airspace following the crash of the Malaysian airliner in Donetsk, near the Russia-Ukraine frontier.
"Biman is now operating its flights avoiding the risky Ukrainian airspace to avert any untoward incident," said Biman's Flight Operation Director Captain Ishrat Ahmed.
The decision on avoiding the no-fly zone came into effect Friday, he added.
The airplane carrying 295 passengers and crew was reportedly shot down by a surface-to-air missile launched from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside Ukraine. The airliner was making its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency and intergovernmental aviation organisation Eurocontrol warned against flying in these areas. The FAA issued a notice prohibiting US flight operations in the airspace over eastern Ukraine until further notice.
Now most of the commercial airlines that usually cross eastern Ukraine on their flights to Europe, Asia and elsewhere are detouring away from the volatile region in the light of Thursday's suspicious crash of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
Tensions have been high between Ukraine and Russia since street protests forced former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February. Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine's southeastern Crimea region, and a pro-Russian separatist rebellion has been raging in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.