Airservices Australia notified Australian defence force about drills 10 minutes after initial contact with pilot, estimates hears
Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast
Australian officials did not know Chinese warships were conducting live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea until a Virgin commercial pilot alerted aviation authorities half an hour after they had begun.
Officials from Airservices Australia, the agency responsible for aviation safety, told a Senate estimates hearing on Monday night that it was first informed of the live-fire drill at 9.58am on Friday morning, when a Virgin pilot was informed by the Chinese navy flotilla by radio.
Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email
Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/25/australia-china-navy-live-firing-drill-updates-airservices
Author : Ben Doherty and Daisy Dumas
Publish date : 2025-02-25 06:43:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.