Luke ST - you’re letting the airlines off the hook far too easily. I don’t know why.
They have a duty of care to their passengers and crew and the buck stops there. Nobody forces them to fly into or through war zones.
Saying, as some airlines have, that ‘it was legal because the airspace was open’ is crazy. Its legal for me to jump off a cliff, but I wouldn’t do it. When the lawsuits begin we will find out whether it was legal or not.
Passengers want to travel with an airline that takes a conservative approach to safety. That includes being proactive and thinking about military risks and taking the right advice. Your and others assertion that this is tabloid stuff is almost like saying passengers are too stupid to understand or care – that is not the case, its just that they don’t have the information..