- ‘Dangerous activities’ cited by city’s civil aviation department as reason for blocking UNI Air flight last week was actually a PLA air-to-air missile exercise, insider says
- Taiwanese aircraft was unable to climb to a safe enough height to be allowed entry into Hong Kong airspace, he says
South China Morning Post
Date: 22 Oct, 2020
By: Minnie Chan
A UNI Air flight en route to the Pratas Islands was forced to turn back after being refused permission to enter Hong Kong airspace last week. Photo: Shutterstock.
The People’s Liberation Army [PLA] was conducting an air-to-air missile exercise in the South China Sea in the morning [on Thursday] when the Taiwanese aircraft was heading to the Dongsha Islands,” a Beijing-based military source close to the PLA said, using the Chinese name for the group of three atolls.1
The UNI Air flight carrying military and coastguard personnel was forced to turn back when Hong Kong’s civil aviation authorities told their counterparts in Taipei there were “dangerous activities” taking place below 26,000 feet.
“Most passenger airliners fly above 26,000 feet,” said the source, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. “But the Taiwanese aircraft was a propeller-powered ATR 72 that can’t climb that high.” [FULL STORY]
