Qantas reveal 'contingency plans' for when airspaces shut

Courier-Mail

15 hours ago

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Australian airlines have been forced to reroute and cancel flights this week after conflict caused major disruption the Middle East.
But what is the process behind calculating risk in international airspace?
On Tuesday, two Qantas flights from Perth - one to London and one to Paris - were diverted due to a traffic jam in the skies above the Gulf.
In the hours prior, Iranian missile attacks on a US military base had led to the closure of parts of the airspace in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Two Qantas flights from Perth - one to London and one to Paris - were diverted due to a traffic jam in the skies above the Gulf. Picture: Julian Andrews
Pilots London-bound on QF9 were advised by Mumbai air traffic control of the situation and quickly alerted Ben Holland, head of Qantas' integrated operations centre.
The contingency plans were as follows: within minutes, Holland had met with senior staff from multiple departments via conference call.
Qantas took a 'conservative risk perspective' and used multiple sources of intelligence and information as a part of a multi-layered process to manage situations, Qantas chief risk officer Andrew Monaghan told The Sydney Morning Herald.
'We're doing things more frequently in terms of risk assessment,' he said.
Ben Holland, the head of Qantas' integrated operation centre, jumped on a conference call with other executives minutes after the call. Picture: Qantas
'There's just more effort that has to go into it because the availability of airspace is limited.'
The flight corridors through the Middle East are one of the main avenues by air to Europe for Aussie travellers, which have been narrowed significantly since the Iran-Israel conflict escalated.
QF9 was directed to reroute to Singapore while the other aircraft, QF33, was told to return to Perth - with passengers enduring a 15-hour flight to nowhere.
Those on board were not told about the missile attack until returning to Australia, WAToday reported, instead were only told the flight was turning back because airspace over Qatar had closed.
Originally published as Qantas reveal 'contingency plans' for when airspaces shut