( CNN ) -- Commercial airlines that usually cross eastern Ukraine on their flights to Europe , Asia and elsewhere are detouring away from the volatile region in light of Thursday 's suspicious crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 . The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that U.S. airlines had voluntarily agreed not to operate in airspace near the Russian-Ukraine border . Later , the FAA issued a notice prohibiting U.S. flight operations in the airspace over eastern Ukraine until further notice . The restricted area includes the Dnepropetrovsk and Simferopol Flight Information Regions . The European Aviation Safety Agency and intergovernmental aviation organization Eurocontrol also warned against flying in these areas . Ukrainian authorities have closed many of the routes in eastern Ukraine , according to Eurocontrol , which counts Ukraine among its 40 member states . Live blog : Loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 . The United States has concluded the Malaysian airliner was shot down , a senior U.S. official told CNN 's Barbara Starr . Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk on Friday blamed `` terrorists '' for the downing . The flight was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia . Tensions have been high between Ukraine and Russia since street protests forced former pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February . Russia subsequently annexed Ukraine 's southeastern Crimea region , and a pro-Russian separatist rebellion has been raging in Ukraine 's eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions . In April , U.S. airlines were prohibited by the FAA from flying in airspace surrounding Crimea , but Thursday 's crash site was not within what was considered restricted area . The International Civil Aviation Organization and European Aviation Safety Agency also issued warnings in the spring against flying in the same area , the Simferopol Flight Information Region . The crash occurred outside the warning area near the town of Torez in eastern Ukraine 's Donetsk region . `` What I ca n't understand is why civilian airliners were flying over this area , which is just a huge error on their part , '' said Bob Baer , a CNN national security analyst and former CIA agent . Most airlines follow the guidelines and rules set by their national civil aviation authorities and fly the most direct route from their departure to their arrival city , said Mary Schiavo , former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation . The FAA and other national civil aviation authorities had n't yet defined the area where the aircraft got shot down as part of the conflict zone in Ukraine , Schiavo said . `` It was n't this particular area , '' she said . `` They had n't defined it as a stay-away area '' even though there was violence in the region . `` No airline will risk the safety of their passengers , crew and aircraft for the sake of fuel savings , '' said Tony Tyler , head of the industry group International Air Transport Association , in a statement . `` Airlines depend on governments and air traffic control authorities to advise which airspace is available for flight , and they plan within those limits . '' Many travelers are likely to avoid the major air route between Europe and Southeast Asia , Schiavo said . `` People simply will just avoid that route . I certainly would n't fly that route right now . '' In light of the crash , airlines around the world are rerouting flights . `` We 're taking a wide detour around eastern Ukraine , '' said Lufthansa spokesman Nils Haupt . That detour will be in effect at least through Friday , he said . Lufthansa had four scheduled flights Thursday that would usually cross over eastern Ukraine . `` We are closely watching the situation '' to decide flight plans beyond the next couple days , he said . `` It 's a precautionary measure to protect the safety of our passengers . '' Did surface-to-air missile take down MH17 ? Lufthansa said it is n't making any changes to its two daily flights going from Frankfurt , Germany , to Kiev , Ukraine , or its one daily flight from Munich , Germany to Odessa , Ukraine , because they do n't cross over that airspace . With only once-a-day service between London 's Heathrow Airport and Kiev , British Airways does n't have any flights in the area of the crash site , according to a representative . `` We are keeping those ( Kiev ) services under review , but Kiev is several hundred kilometers from the incident site . '' A Kiev-bound Emirates flight turned around on Thursday and returned to Dubai `` due to the safety concerns raised with the latest reports on Malaysian flight MH17 , '' and suspended all flights to Kiev immediately until further notice , according to a company statement . Other Emirates flights to and from the United States and Europe fly a route outside the area where the crash occurred , the company said . With the exception of flights to Kiev , Air France is no longer flying over Ukraine , the airline said . Air France suspended flights over the area surrounding Crimea in April . American carriers including Delta Air Lines are also avoiding the region . `` Out of an abundance of caution , Delta is not routing flights through Ukrainian airspace and is monitoring the situation involving Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 , '' the airline said in a statement . Fast facts : Commercial airline crashes . Place tragedy escalates Ukraine conflict . CNN 's Ashley Fantz , John Newsome , Mike Ahlers and Barry Neild contributed to this report .
The FAA prohibits U.S. military operations over eastern Ukraine . Airlines are diverting flights around the area . Problems in the region prompted some airspace changes earlier this year . Crash ##ing was not within airspace prohibited by U.S. regulators .