UN conflict zone info from public data

[MONTREAL] A UN aviation agency task force, developing pilot programmes to help airlines and states assess risks above conflict zones, will focus on information that is already public, and not confidential intelligence, its chair said.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) task force was set up following industry demands for neutral and authoritative information on risks to airliners after a Malaysian plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July, killing 298 people.

Without confidential information, it is not clear how much useful guidance the task force's programmes can offer airlines. "The pilot projects are looking at what is available already in the public domain," David McMillan, who heads the ICAO task force and is also chair of the US-based Flight Safety Foundation, said in an interview last week. "They are looking at things like what weapons are deployed in conf…