EU Bars Russian Planes From European Airspace

The Russian Airline, Aeroflot, has been banned from most of Western Europe’s airspace. (Wikimedia Commons)

Countries around Europe have banned Russian commercial aircrafts from their airspace following the country’s invasion of Ukraine. On February 23, Poland became the first EU country to ban Russian aircrafts from entering their airspace, with Czechia following suit. Russian planes are no longer permitted to enter Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, the Baltic States, and the United Kingdom. Other European countries like Germany, Finland, Spain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Italy have announced restrictions on Russian airline travel in their respective airspace. 

Not only are Russian aircraft barred from Western Europe’s airspace, but many countries and airlines have refused to fly into Ukrainian or Russian airspace. This refusal stems from a fear that civilian aircrafts will be shot down. 

This fear is not unfounded. In 2014, Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, a passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down while flying over Ukraine. This 2014 shoot-down was a direct result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, with investigations concluding that the flight was shot down by a pro-separatist Russian group.  

Out of an abundance of caution, airlines have also extended the no-fly zone to nearby states such as certain parts of Moldova. 

Airlines such as Delta have gone as far as to terminate partnerships with Russian airlines. On February 26, Delta announced that they were ending their codesharing partnership with Russian airline, Aeroflot. This decision was made shortly after the United Kingdom banned Russian aircrafts from their airspace. 

As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues to escalate, many countries and companies are looking for ways to economically cripple Russia and incentivize them to pull out of Ukraine.