Sun 27 January 2022:
Following an EU official’s announcement that most European countries will implement flight bans, Russian airlines face a near-total airspace blockade to the country’s west.
A string of European countries including Germany and Finland have said they are preparing to close their airspace to Russian planes, mirroring measures already taken by other states on the continent.
Sweden, Denmark and Iceland were alongside Berlin and Helsinki as the latest to take action.
Countries close airspace of Russian flights
Germany said its own ban will last for three months and apply to all Russian flights from 14:00 GMT on Sunday as the screws tighten on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. Only humanitarian flights will be exempt from Berlin’s measure.
The United Kingdom, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as Baltic states Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, have also moved to shutter their airspace to Russian planes.
In the meantime, Russia has retaliated by imposing tit-for-tat restrictions on nations that have banned its 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.
Finland’s decision may leave the Gulf of Finland – around 74 miles (120km) wide at its broadest point – as the only viable passage for Russian planes travelling to European countries that have yet to ban flights.
Commercial airlines are also avoiding airspace around Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus following Russia’s invasion.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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