Brussels, Russian airlines face a near-total airspace blockade to the country’s west after an EU official said most European countries are set to impose flight bans.
A formal decision is expected on the measure later today.
One by one, European countries said they were closing their airspace, including Germany for three months.
With airspace curbs over Ukraine, Russian flights now have few route options for westbound journeys.
Departure boards at Moscow’s Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo airports showed dozens of cancellations today, including flights to Paris, Vienna and Kaliningrad.
Russia’s S7 Airlines said on Facebook it would cancel flights to many of its European destinations until at least 13 March 2022.
Aeroflot, Russia’s biggest airline, said it would cancel its services to Latvia and Romania until at least 26 March 2022, and its Prague and Warsaw routes until 28 March 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia has responded with tit-for-tat restrictions on countries banning its flights.
Russian-owned planes, including private jets, can no longer enter the skies above the Baltic states, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovenia. Russian planes have also been banned from UK airspace.
Spain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy will also close their airspace to Russian aircraft.
The restriction on flights over many of the countries to Russia’s west will require its airlines to take circuitous routes, resulting in longer flight times.
Commercial airlines are also avoiding airspace around Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus following Russia’s invasion.
In the United States (US), Delta Air Lines said it would suspend a flight booking agreement with Russia’s Aeroflot.
The UK’s ban on Russian flights led Moscow to retaliate with a similar curb on British planes.
Virgin Atlantic said avoiding Russia would add between 15 minutes and an hour to its flights between the UK and India and Pakistan.
Australian airline Qantas said it would use a longer route for its direct flight between Darwin and London that does not overfly Russia, BBC news reported.
Source: Oman News Agency
