Commercial flights were warned to avoid airspace over the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand on Friday after Chinese warships took part in an apparent live-fire drill.

It’s understood at least three commercial flights diverted their course after China had given notice that three of its warships could potentially fire live weapons in a military exercise.

Domestic regulator Airservices Australia pre-warned commercial pilots of a potential air space hazard, while Air New Zealand, the neighbouring country’s national carrier, said it had “modified flight paths as needed to avoid the area, with no impact on our operations.”

After the warning, Australian defence officials said they were uncertain whether any live fire of weapons took place. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that any risk had since passed.

“There was no imminent risk of danger to any Australian assets or New Zealand assets,” Albanese told reporters, citing information from his Defence Ministry.

Australian and New Zealand military ships and P-8 Poseidon surveillance planes have been monitoring the three Chinese warships — frigate Hengyang, cruiser Zunyi and replenishment vessel Weishanhu — for days.

The deployment of Chinese ships in the Tasman Sea is regarded as a demonstration of the Chinese navy’s growing size and capability. However, the ships rarely venture so far south.

“Pilots often have to contend with obstacles to safe navigation, whether that be from military exercises such as this or other events like rocket launches, space debris or volcanic eruptions,” Steve Cornell of the Australian and International Pilots Association said.

“That being said, it’s a big bit of ocean and you would think that they could have parked somewhere less inconvenient whilst they flexed their muscles,” he added.

Albanese said the Chinese exercise was legal and took place in international waters outside Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

The country’s foreign minister, Penny Wong, told ABC television that the presence of Chinese ships in waters off Australia was an evolving situation and that she would be “discussing this with the Chinese.”

“We already have at official level, in relation to the notice given and the transparency provided in relation to these exercises, particularly the live fire exercises,” Wong added.

The incident follows another in the South China Sea last week when a Chinese fighter jet released flares in front of an Australian military plane.

Widespread travel disruption is already hitting Belgium this morning as a 9-day train strike begins.

A nationwide railway strike officially starts today (Friday 21 February) at 10pm, running until 10pm on 2 March.

To add to travellers’ woes, airport workers will continue striking on the 13th of every month until further notice, and travel across Belgium is expected to be impacted by more strikes and mass protests that could last well into springtime.

Read on for Euronews Travel’s advice on how to navigate the travel disruption in Belgium.

Belgium: Nationwide rail strike from 21 February to 2 March

Travellers can expect significant travel disruption in Brussels, Antwerp, Bruges, and other major cities from 10pm on 21 February until 10pm on 2 March, not just with trains but also to other public transport, including buses, trams, and metro services.

In a statement, Belgian National Railway Company SNCB say: “We understand and regret that this strike may interfere with your travels”, adding that “in order to deal with the limited number of trains running, we will put in place an alternative service in accordance with staff availability.”

Most SNCB personnel and those working on rail infrastructure for companies Infrabel and HR-Rail will be on strike, meaning Belgium’s rail network could be brought to a near standstill.

SNCB advises travellers to regularly check for updates via its journey planner on its website or the SNCB app.

International train services, including Eurostar, TGV INOUI, EuroCity, Eurocity Direct, ICE and OUIGO, are expected to remain unaffected, but you can receive live updates on the SNCB International website.

The SNCB suggests you “consider alternative routes when travelling on cross-border local trains to/from Lille, Maubeuge, Luxembourg, Roosendaal, Maastricht or Aachen – and if you need to take a local connection in Belgium before or after your international journey”.

Commuters are already complaining about delays and cancellations

The impact of the rail strikes are already being felt by commuters.

X user @blasco_music wrote on the social media platform morning, “The@SNCB dares to strike for 10 days and put people in even more trouble when you know because of them there are people who already have daily problems with their employers because they never arrived on time.”

Another person, under the handle @KvanCoban, posted even stronger words on X: “What is wrong with the Belgian railways!” and adding, “How can it not be solved for so long? And they say that Belgium is a developed country!”

The nationwide strike comes after recent mass protests in Brussels

Some Belgians are opposed to the new government coalition, and they are taking to the streets to make their feelings heard.

It was estimated that 50,000 people protested on the streets of Brussels yesterday, according to union officials.

These mass protests are to address “imbalances” around public services and purchasing power in the coalition government’s agenda. These include concerns over cutting public services, stricter measures on unemployment benefits, pension reform and workplace flexibility.

Demonstrations of this nature are common in Belgium and are primarily peaceful, especially in the Brussels’ EU quarter (Schuman area) and around transport hubs and government buildings.

However these protests can cause significant problems for public transport, postal services, and air travel, and disruption to businesses.

A general strike has also been called on 31 March. All these strikes are in opposition to the federal government’s proposed policies.

Why are there so many strikes happening in Belgium?

Most of the strikes are targeting new government policies. While negotiations with unions are underway, tensions remain high.

The main reasons for the railway industrial actions are pension reforms, changes to labour law, and budget cuts to rail operator SNCB. The strikes coincide with the school holidays in French-speaking education.

While the government has not responded to the planned strikes, the leader of the Flemish Christian-democratic political party (CD&V), Sammy Mahdi, struck out at the railway strikes, calling them “completely irresponsible.” He called them “a slap in the face of commuters, workers in less privileged sectors and future generations who rely on us to secure pensions,” according to the Belga news agency.

“Organising total chaos on the railways because you’re the only sector that can’t retire at 55? Irresponsible.”

Are rail passengers entitled to compensation during a strike?

The normal conditions for refunding or exchanging your ticket remain the same, even if there is a strike, as according to EU law, train companies have to get ticket holders to their final destination or issue them with a refund.

If you choose to travel even if your train is delayed, you may still be eligible for a partial or full refund. This usually depends on how late your train arrives at its destination.

If your train is delayed by more than 60 minutes, you can choose not to travel and will receive a full refund for your ticket. Alternatively, you can have your ticket reissued for travel at a later date.

SNCB has full details on how to claim a refund here.

Passengers who were onboard the Delta Airlines flight that crash landed in Toronto earlier this week have been offered $30,000 (€28,760) in compensation.

Delta Flight 4819 burst into flames and flipped over when it landed at Toronto Pearson International Airport on 17 February.

Although none of the 80 passengers and crew onboard were killed in the accident, all 76 passengers have been offered $30,000 (€28,760).

A Delta spokesperson said that the financial offer “has no strings attached and does not affect rights”. This likely means that passengers will still be at liberty to sue the airline.

If all of the passengers accept the money, the airline will owe nearly $2.3 million (€2.2 million) in total.

Passengers recount what it was like to be in the crash

21 passengers were injured and taken to local hospitals after the crash. 20 of these have now been released.

Witnesses and video from the scene shows the plane landing so hard that its right wing is sheared off. It bursts into flames before sliding down the runway and flipping over.

“It appears from the video that the plane landed so hard that the right main gear collapsed. The tail and right wing began skidding causing the plane to roll over to the right,” Ella Atkins, the head of Virginia Tech’s aerospace and ocean engineering department and a pilot. “During the rollover, the right wing and tail sheared off, and a fire ignited, likely due to skidding and fuel leakage at least from a right wing tank.”

John Nelson, one of the passengers, captured the scene as he climbed out of the upside-down plane. He described a hard landing and the plane skidding onto its side before flipping onto its back.

In an interview with Canadian broadcaster CBC News, passenger Pete Carlson described the touchdown as a “forceful event, where all of a sudden everything just kind of went sideways.”

Carlson had fastened his seatbelt, as instructed, prior to landing. When he unlatched the belt to evacuate the plane, he said he “crashed down onto the ceiling, which had become the floor.”

He smelled gas, saw aviation fuel cascading down the cabin windows and knew they all had to get out. Carlson and another man assisted a mother and her son out of the plane, then Carlson dropped onto the snowy tarmac.

“All of us just wanted to be out of the aircraft,” he said.

What caused the Delta plane crash in Toronto?

While the cause of the crash remains unclear, aviation experts have been giving their professional opinion on likely factors.

Experts say investigators will consider conditions on the ground, the pilot’s actions before landing, and potential problems with the landing gear. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation with support from the US National Transportation Safety Board.

Was the pilot to blame?

Communications between the tower and pilot were normal on approach and it’s not clear what went wrong when the plane – a Mitsubishi CRJ-900 made by the Canadian company Bombardier – touched down.

Juan Browne, a commercial pilot who discusses aviation incidents on his YouTube channel, said preliminary data suggests the speed and rate of descent, crosswinds and the weather were “within limits.”

But Browne raised concerns about the pilots’ actions before landing.

“It appears that the aircraft simply did not flare at all,” Browne said. Flaring slows the aircraft’s rate of descent. “They just drove it into the runway.”

The Delta flight was cleared to land at about 2.10 pm. Audio recordings show the control tower warned the pilots of a possible air flow “bump” on approach.

“It was windy, but the airplanes are designed and certified to handle that,” said John Cox, CEO of aviation safety consulting firm Safety Operating Systems in St. Petersburg, Florida. “The pilots are trained and experienced to handle that.”

What was the weather like?

At the time of the crash, Pearson airport was experiencing blowing snow and winds of 32 mph (51 kph) gusting to 40 mph (65 kph), according to the Meteorological Service of Canada. The temperature was about 16.5 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 8.6 degrees Celsius). Browne said blowing snow reduces visibility.

Michael McCormick, an assistant professor and program coordinator for air traffic management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, said investigators would look closely at the landing gear to make sure it was properly locked in place, and would consider staffing on the ground and in the aircraft.

“They will look at the number of people working both on the aircraft and the control towers. And they will look at their schedules,” McCormick said. “Are they well rested? Are they well staffed?”

But a Canadian investigator refused to comment on preliminary theories.

“At this point, it’s far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be,” TSB Senior Investigator Ken Webster said in a video statement Tuesday, as he stood near the remains of the aircraft.

He said investigators will examine the wreckage and runway, and have removed the cockpit voice and flight data recorders and sent them to the lab for analysis.

That everyone survived the Delta crash is a testament to the safety improvements made by airlines and aircraft manufacturers, including wings that are designed to come off to reduce explosions, well-trained flight crews and seats built to withstand impacts of up to 16 times the force of gravity.

“That seat is your single best resource in order to keep you protected,” McCormick said. “There’s a reason why the flight attendants walk around the aircraft prior to (landing) … to make sure everybody has their seat belts fastened.”

Is flying still safe?

The crash was the fourth major aviation accident in North America in recent weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC, on 29 January killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on 31 January, killing the six people onboard and another person on the ground. On 6 February, 10 people were killed in a plane crash in Alaska.

Nevertheless, according to Jeff Guzzetti, an airline safety consultant and a former FAA and NTSB investigator, air travel is “extremely safe.”

“The odds of getting injured or killed in an commercial airline accident is far less than driving in your car,” Guzzetti said.

Still, he worries about layoffs at the Federal Aviation Administration under the Trump administration. ”I am concerned that the proposed cuts and changes to the FAA may increase the risk of further accidents,” he said.