Chinese aircraft avoid eastern Ukraine after crash

Special: Malaysia Airlines plane crashes in Ukraine

BEIJING - All Chinese airlines have rerouted their flights over eastern Ukraine following the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in the region.

China's civil aviation authority told Xinhua on Friday that it has ordered all Chinese aircraft flying over Ukraine to avoid airspace over that area.

Related airspace of Ukraine has been shut down after the airplane crash, Xinhua learned from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

Chinese airlines operate 28 round-trip flights each week which fly over eastern Ukraine, though there are no regular flights between Ukraine and China, according to the CAAC.

China Eastern Airlines issued a statement saying that, given the regional security situation in Ukraine, it has rerouted its only flight over this area from Friday.

China Southern Airlines said none of its flights to Amsterdam, Paris, London, Frankfurt and Moscow fly through Ukraine national airspace and all its European flights are operating normally.

Air China likewise said it has no flights going through the area.

A Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 passenger plane with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board crashed on Thursday in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. There were no survivors.

As international investigation into the crash is pending, the entire world is awaiting an answer to the questions of what actually brought down the passenger jet and who are responsible for the tragedy.