Downing of MH17 a complete violation of international laws - IATA

The downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, a clearly identified commercial jet, was in complete violation of international laws, standards and conventions, said the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Its director-general and chief executive officer Tony Tyler said the Boeing 777 was blown out of the sky while broadcasting its identity and presence in an open and busy air corridor at an altitude that was deemed to be safe.

He noted that governments and air navigation service providers informed airlines about the routes that they could fly and with what restrictions, and airlines complied with that guidance.

"That was the case with MH17," he said in a statement on the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight believed to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile on Thursday while flying over the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

The Malaysian jetliner had 298 passengers and crew aboard.

Tyler stressed that no effort should be spared in ensuing that "this outrage is not repeated".

Governments, he said, would need to take the lead in reviewing how airspace risk assessments were made.

"And the industry will do all that it can to support governments, through the International Civil Aviation Organisation, in the difficult work that lies ahead," he added.