Prime Minister Tony Abbott says airline passengers should be told if they are flying over conflict zones.
The Transport Workers Union has called on Mr Abbott to step in to re-route Qantas and other Australian flights away from war zones in the wake of the MH17 tragedy.
Mr Abbott says passengers are entitled to ask about their flying route, and should be told if they are travelling over a war zone.
"I must say, if I was a passenger flying between Australia and Europe I would be curious about where I was flying," he told Fairfax Radio on Thursday.
"I can remember, years and years ago on my first trip to Europe as a government minister, looking out and thinking ... I think that would be Iran down there, and wondering about what may or may not have been happening.
"I think people are perfectly entitled to ask and, yes, they should be told."
TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon says the federal government has the power to pass laws that require Australian carriers to avoid war zones such as Iraq, and the union will hold meetings with members over the issue in coming weeks.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on Wednesday said it was unfathomable that Qantas, which flies twice a day over Iraq on a path between Dubai and London, would knowingly put anyone in harm's way.
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