Dutch push Russia on aviation safety over warzones

The Netherlands believes that countries should not delay sharing aeronautical information above dangerous conflict zones on the basis of legal considerations. The Netherlands is responding on the announcement of Russia that the country will only in 2016 make a decision about participating in a yet to be established website where countries and research establishments can share information about aviation above dangerous conflict zones. The Russian delegation says that the reason for the delay are legal risks. At the insistence of the Netherlands, among others, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) proposed to test a central website where warnings about conflict can be posted. The motivation for this website is the disaster with flight MH17 over Eastern Ukraine. Yesterday State Secretary Wilma Mansveld advocated fervently for such a site at the safety conference of the UN aviation organization ICAO in Montreal, Canada. "The Netherlands is impatient. The memories of flight MH17 are still fresh. The need to take action now is obvious." she said. In the new system all the information about closed airspace and risky areas to fly over must be brought together on one website, which will be managed by ICAO. "No longer scattered across various sources, but brought together and accessible to all countries. A first step, but a very important one", said Mansveld.