European
flight safety body Eurocontrol says Ukrainian authorities have closed the
airspace in the east of the country to all airline flights.
It
said all flight plans that use routes in the area are being rejected.
It
follows the crash of Malaysian airliner flight MH17 with 298 people on board,
amid claims it was shot down.
Flights
already airborne are being routed around the area by air traffic control in the
region, a Department for Transport spokesperson said.
Flight
MH17 was on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it came down near the
village of Grabovo.
Immediate measures
The
European Cockpit Association (ECA), which represents more than 38,000 European
pilots, said the route flown by the crashed Malaysian aircraft was "the
most common route for flights from Europe to South East Asia."
Airline
Emirates said its flight EK171 from Dubai
