SEPANG, July 18 — Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai denied talk today that Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 had chosen to fly a shorter route over conflict-ridden eastern Ukraine to save money and fuel.

Liow also repeatedly stressed that the route taken by the commercial jetliner, which was shot down yesterday in the region controlled by pro-Russia separatists, was a safe flight path approved by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

“Since it’s an approved route, it’s safe,” Liow told a press conference here today.

“I want to stress that the route was an approved path flown for decades by Malaysia Airlines and other aircraft,” he added.

The minister also noted that 15 out of 16 airlines in the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines fly the same route over Ukraine.

“European airlines also use the same route, and traverse the same airspace. In the hours before the incident, a number of other passenger aircraft from different carriers used the same route,” said Liow, who faced repeated questions from the media on why the plane carrying 298 people chose to fly over a war zone.

All aboard Flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur died when the Boeing 777-200 crashed near a Ukrainian village yesterday after it was reportedly struck by a surface-to-air missile.

Both Russia and Ukraine have denied shooting down the commercial jet.

According to international news wire Reuters, Ukraine has since closed the airspace over its eastern regions where it is battling pro-Russia rebels.

Out of the 283 passengers and 15 crew aboard the doomed plane, there were 44 Malaysians, while the Dutch comprised the majority at 173 people.