IATA sees no safety threat in Russian airspace after incident with Chinese aircraft

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) sees no threat to flight safety in Russian airspace after the incident involving the near collision of two Chinese airlines on July 7. This was stated by IATA Director General Willie Walsh at a briefing in Singapore on July 18.

The incident involved an Air China Airbus A350-900 passenger plane and an SF Airlines Boeing 767-300F cargo plane. The Air China aircraft began an unauthorized climb from 34,100 to 36,000 feet, leading to a potential conflict with the Boeing at 35,000 feet. The TCAS collision avoidance system was triggered, and the Russian controller promptly issued a command to restore safe separation.

At the time of the incident, the controller was also in radio communication with two other Air China and Hainan Airlines flights. After the command to maintain flight level 36,000 feet, one of the aircraft continued to climb. Neither the pilots nor the Civil Aviation Administration of China commented on the situation. The radio exchange recording shows the controller using two altitude measurement systems-in meters and feet. Walsh noted that unifying such measurements would be convenient but does not affect flight safety.

Since 2022, transit flights through Russian airspace have significantly decreased: it is closed to Western airlines but continues to serve Chinese and Middle Eastern carriers.

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