LONDON -- This is no time to be flying in a civilian airplane in European airspace. It's crowded with NATO missiles and bombers.

"All airspace and airports in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Albania have been off-limits to all but the military," said Tim Goodyear of the International Air Travel Association. "A further 40 nautical miles surrounding the area is closed."

"Rerouting is affecting flights to Greece, Turkey, northeast Africa, Egypt and the Middle East," he said. "Delays are not too badly managed, and flights are being slotted in."

Austrian Airlines is the major operator to Eastern Europe, flying into 36 destinations from Britain. Since Thursday, there has been no access to many of the airline's destinations, including Split, Timisoara, Sarajevo, Tirana, Mostar, Banja Luka or Belgrade.

Military traffic

"NATO operations are affecting us," said Monika Warburton, chief executive of Austrian Airlines.

"The minute anybody declares cessation of hostilities, we'll be able to go again; but there's a lot of military traffic and rockets, and we won't put anyone at risk."

It's not just the war zone in Yugoslavia that's affected. Surrounding areas, such as Croatia, Albania and Bosnia, are closed to civilian planes because military aircraft need to land and refuel.

NATO officials confer with Eurocontrol, chief organizer for air traffic control over Europe. IATA carries out decisions dealing with reroutings or closures, and monitors and advises on operations.

Travel options

If Croatian airspace is closed, where can civilian aircraft fly? The choice at the moment is northern Hungary -- the south is closed -- Austria, southern Germany and Italy.

But Europe is shrinking in the face of battle. Civilian aircraft often fly from north to south over the Adriatic Sea. Not now. The southern portion of the Adriatic is blocked and flights must go over central Italy.

Heading for Macedonia? Travelers could fly to Sofia and try to go overland. According to Warburton, however, "there is no ground transportation."

Pub Date: 3/27/99