A hostage situation in Sydney has prompted authorities to divert aircraft away from the central business district.
NSW Police helicopters are in the air above a cafe in Martin Place on Monday, with streets blocked off and scores of police and military personnel on the scene.
Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said there was “at this stage no impact on the air traffic network”, with air traffic being rerouted away from NSW Police helicopters on the scene.
“The airspace over the Sydney CBD is not in shutdown,” Truss said in a statement.
Qantas said on its Twitter account: “All Qantas flights are diverting around Sydney CBD but are operating as per schedule at this stage.”
And Virgin Australia tweeted: “Our flights are operating as usual at SYD Airport and we will continue to monitor the situation closely. We don’t fly over SYD CBD airspace.”
Subsequently CASA confirmed via its Twitter account: “Can confirm no changes by CASA to Sydney airspace at this stage. CBD is in Sydney control zone which means clearance needed at all times.”
