[WildUtah]

1. Austria is not on the way from Spain to Bolivia by any plausible charter routing.

2. Portugal and France don't control airspace needed to fly from Spain to Bolivia. Neither do they control airspace needed or very desirable to fly between Austria and Bolivia.

3. Therefore what we are hearing now is not likely to be the real story.

[gaadd33]

For a flight from Moscow to Bolivia with a refueling stop in Lisbon, it appears that the great circle route takes you through Spain and France. From Austria it appears as if traversing France is the best route too.

Are there strong jet streams or something which would cause it to choose a different route?