EXCLUSIVE-Airline Pilots Surprised by Chinese Navy Live-Fire Warning Near Australia, Messages Show

By Lisa Barrington

SEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) – Pilots first heard about a Chinese live-fire naval exercise near Australia last week when already in the air, receiving messages that forced some to change paths through a busy air corridor, satellite text messages to and from pilots seen by Reuters show.

The incident highlights how airlines are increasingly having to react at short notice to geopolitical disruptions and military hazards, such as missile and drone barrages between Israel and Iran last year.

It also shows how China’s military, in its first drills in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, is raising tensions by being more assertive across the Indo-Pacific region, according to Western defense analysts, including near Taiwan.

China has said it gave adequate warning to Australian and New Zealand authorities about the exercise.

Planes first heard about a live-fire drill when a Virgin Australia IPO-VIR.AX pilot picked up a Chinese navy broadcast on the 121.5 MHz emergency radio channel pilots use to communicate between planes at 9.58 a.m. Sydney time last Friday (2258 GMT on Thursday), according to Australian officials.

The pilot reported the broadcast to an air traffic controller, who passed the message to Australia’s military, according to Airservices Australia.

“At that stage we didn’t know whether it was a potential hoax or real,” said Peter Curran, deputy CEO of the air traffic contr…