The crisis in Ukraine reached a catastrophic low on Thursday when a Malaysia Airlines flight was apparently shot down by a surface-to-air missile, killing all 295 on-board near the Russia border. The incident was a tragic result of months-long fighting between pro-Russia separatists and Ukrainian loyalists in one of the world's several 'hotspots' at the moment.
That has led to a question of whether consumers will continue to fly to, or through, destinations in crisis. But Douglas Grimes says he didn't need Thursday's tragedy to answer that.
"For the first half of this year, we've pretty much had to cancel most of our trips to Ukraine," Grimes told TravelPulse.com. Grimes is the vice president of operations for the Seattle-based Mir Corporation, which specializes in tours to Russia and has an office in Kiev, Ukraine, as well as four offices in Russia and one in Uzbekistan.
"The issues in Ukraine have already affected the travel industry," Grimes said. "But this, specifically, this crash will make travelers think about something they haven't thought of in the past - where am I flying over?"
The thought of terrorists having access to such weapons that could bring a plane down is discomforting, to say the least, and not just in Ukraine. Within hours of the news of the Malaysia Airlines crash, Israel launched a ground invasion of Gaza, as if the Middle East wasn't already a hotspot. The U.S.-Mexico border has been rife with incidents, from border crossings to the drug wars.
"It's completely possible to take an airliner down with a surface-to-air missile, and the worst part is that a lot of this military hardware was in the hands of the government - any government - at one time or another," Joe King told TravelPulse.com. King served for 33 years as the Supervisory Special Agent in Charge of the Terrorist and Middle East Division, US Customs in New York, and two years as Chief, National Security Section, Department of Homeland Security in New York. He is currently a professor at the City University of New York, College of Criminal Justice at John Jay.
King said that "in this instance, it's highly likely these missiles were in the hands of the Russians at one time and they made their way to the separatists. It happens like that and it makes any spot in the world dangerous."
King said he was somewhat surprised that foreign carriers continued to use the route that took them over Ukraine. But the commercial airspace over that area is one of the most heavily trafficked in the world.
"It's mostly European carriers or the southeast Asia carriers like Singapore, Air India, Lufthansa, Alitalia that all transit that airspace," Mark Duell, VP of operations of FlightAware.com, told Travel Pulse. "But there are American carriers. Delta and United both have flights that utilize that airspace."
[BLURB]"In this instance, it's highly likely these missiles were in the hands of the Russians at one time and they made their way to the separatists. It happens like that and it makes any spot in the world dangerous." - Joe King[/BLURB]
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The Federal Aviation Administration, which issued a Notice To Airmen (NOTAM) two months ago warning about flights over the region, contacted all U.S. airlines following the crash of MH17 and all agreed to avoid flying in that airspace.
Delta issued this statement: "Out of an abundance of caution, Delta is not routing flights through Ukrainian airspace and is monitoring the situation involving Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. The flight was not a codeshare with Delta, and Delta does not operate any service that flies over the region of Ukraine that was the subject of an FAA security advisory. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Delta Air Lines family are with the passengers and crew, and their loved ones, involved in the Malaysia Airlines incident today."
And Dutch airline KLM, which shares flight codes with Malaysia Air, issued a similar statement. Of the 290 aboard Flight MH17, 154 were Dutch.
"Although not yet officially confirmed by Malaysia Airlines, it is with great regret that KLM has learnt about the possible incident with flight MH17, codeshare KL4103, of Malaysia Airlines from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur," KLM said in a statement. "We are in contact with Malaysia Airlines to obtain further information. As a precautionary measure KLM avoids flying over the concerned territory."
Aeroflot, Russia's national carrier, also announced it cancelled all flights to Ukraine for at least three days. Grimes said his company typically uses carriers such as Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines, British Airways and Lufthansa for its tours.
"All of the tourism destinations don't necessarily include the eastern part of Ukraine at all," he said, "but the Crimean Peninsula was an area heavily affected for us. We have quite a few travelers who are there right now. We have a trip going from Moscow to Mongolia and people are asking a lot of questions."
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