Myanmar warns of taking action on UAE plane

YANGON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's civil aviation authorities have warned of taking action against a passenger plane of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for flying in Yangon's no-fly zone, the official Global New Light of Myanmar reported Wednesday.

The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) of Myanmar sent a notice to its UAE counterpart informing about their investigation on Tuesday, the report said.

It happened that a Boeing 777-31H (ER), en-route from Yangon to Phnom Penh, flew at a low altitude over Yangon city last Sunday at 6:55 p.m. local time.

According to Director of Myanmar's DCA U Soe Paing, UAE pilot admitted that he crossed the restricted airspace due to weather condition, saying that soon after take-off, the weather was not favorable for flying and to avoid potential danger to the passengers, he turned the plane around and passed through the no-fly zone.

However, international rules indicate that under no circumstances should an aircraft cross the no-fly zone, U Soe Paing said, vowing to take action according to the standard protocol.

Myanmar's DCA has restricted any aircraft from flying below an altitude of 24,000 feet ( 7,200 meters) over the Yangon civil area including the Shwedagon Pagoda. Enditem