Pilots raised the alarm after Chinese navy warned of live-fire drills off Australia, forcing dozens of flights to divert

• A Chinese navy flotilla conducted a live-fire exercise off the Australian coast on Friday.

• A Virgin Australia pilot informed air traffic control after hearing a radio broadcast.

• The warning triggered 49 flights to divert as a hazard alert commenced.

Dozens of flights were forced to divert after a pilot warned air traffic control about a Chinese navy live-firing exercise off the Australian coast.

Authorities were unaware of the exercise until a pilot raised the alarm on Friday.

Rob Sharp, the CEO of Airservices Australia, the government agency responsible for air safety, gave evidence to a Senate hearing in Canberra on Monday. “It was, in fact, a Virgin Australia aircraft that advised one of our air traffic controllers that a foreign warship was broadcasting that they were conducting live firing 300 nautical miles off our coast,” he said.

Task Group 107 of the People’s Liberation Army Navy was operating off the New South Wales coast in the Tasman Sea, between Australia and New Zealand. It consisted of a frigate, a cruiser, and a replenishment vessel.

The Virgin Australia pilot heard one of the vessels broadcasting on the international guard frequency on Friday morning, said Peter Curran, Airservices Australia’s deputy CEO.

He told the hearing that the government agency then commenced a hazard alert to warn all flights in the area.

It then advised the Department of Defence’s Headquarters Joint Operations Command. “Bearing in mind at that stage, we didn’t know if it was a hoax or real,” Curran said.

Twenty minutes after the Virgin pilot’s warning, an Emirates aircraft also made contact with the Chinese flotilla. It heard the radio broadcast advising that live firing was taking place between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. local time.

Some 49 aircraft were diverted over the course of Friday, Curran said.

That included some that were already in the air when the hazard alert was issued, but were flights later in the day that adjusted their route to avoid the airspace.

Flight plans continued to divert throughout the weekend as a matter of precaution, he added.

The incident sparked diplomatic tensions over the weekend.

A spokesperson for Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, told Guardian Australia: “The Australian Government has raised its concern with the lack of notice on the live fire activity from the Chinese Government, including through appropriate channels in Canberra and Beijing.”

Wu Qian, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, said in a statement that the drill would not impact aviation safety.

He added that it took place in international waters and safety notices were issued in advance.

“Australia has unjustly criticized China and deliberately exaggerated the issue,” Wu said.

Reuters reported that New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the live-fire exercise complied with international law, adding: “The issue for us is … we’d appreciate a little bit more advance notice, particularly on what is a busy air route.”

Australia’s Department of Defence said it was continuing to monitor Task Group 107 as it re-entered Australia’s exclusive economic zone early on Tuesday.

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