Air traffic control recordings have revealed the moment a Virgin Australia crew was told about a Chinese naval live-fire exercise over the Tasman Sea, sparking one of the biggest mid-air reroutes in recent memory.
The tapes, released under Australia’s Freedom of Information Act, capture the Virgin pilots reporting a radio call from a Chinese warship warning that live firing was about to begin. The jet was cruising over the Tasman on 21 February when the call came through, hundreds of kilometres east of the NSW coast.
Controllers can be heard quickly relaying the warning and moving other flights out of the area. Within minutes, dozens of aircraft including planes from Qantas, Air New Zealand, Emirates and Singapore Airlines were sent on detours to keep clear.
In total, 49 flights had to change course that day. Passengers likely had no idea why their flight paths suddenly shifted.
Australia’s air safety agency later declared a no-fly zone around the Chinese ships, which were carrying out the exercise in international waters.
The Chinese navy task group stayed in the region for weeks, holding more drills before circling around Australia and heading back towards Asia.
Both the Australian and New Zealand governments later complained to Beijing about the lack of advance notice, saying the incident caused unnecessary disruption in one of the region’s busiest air corridors. China has defended its actions as legal.
