European nations and Canada moved on Sunday to shut their
airspace to Russian aircraft, an unprecedented step aimed at pressuring
President Vladimir Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine, the biggest attack on
a European state since World War Two.
Aeroflot said it would cancel all flights to European
destinations after E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the European
Union had decided to close its airspace to Russian traffic.
The United States is considering similar action, but has yet
to make a final decision, according to U.S. officials. The U.S. government said
citizens should consider leaving Russia immediately on commercial flights,
citing an increasing number of airlines cancelling flights as countries closed
their airspace to Russia.
The ban on Russian jets comes as the airline industry
continues to grapple with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic that is still
undermining global demand for travel.
Germany, Spain and France joined Britain, the Nordics and
Baltic states in declaring bans on Russian use of their airspace, a major
escalation in a tactic by mostly NATO allies to wage economic war against Putin
in retaliation for the invasion.
The West, led by the United States, also unveiled sweeping
new financial sanctions on Russia.
Russia is now widely expected to retaliate further against
the air blockades and other sanctions. It has already responded to the earliest
European airspace bans with its own edicts barring airlines from Britain,
Bulgaria and Poland.
Without access to Russia's airways, experts say carriers
will have to divert flights south while also avoiding areas of tension in the
Middle East.
A reciprocal airspace ban by Russia and the United States
would cause longer flight times for U.S. carriers and could require crew
changes on East Coast routes to Asia, said U.S.-based analyst Robert Mann of R.W.
Mann & Company, Inc.
It could make certain flights too costly to operate for U.S.
carriers. "It would just add a lot of expense," he said.
WILL WASHINGTON FOLLOW?
France on Sunday evening said it was shutting its airspace
to all Russian aircraft and airlines, in an announcement echoed across
continental Europe.
The closure of European airspace to Russian airlines and
vice versa had immediate impacts on global aviation.
Air France-KLM (AIRF.PA) said it is suspending flights to
and from Russia as well as the overflight of Russian airspace until further
notice. Air France said it was also suspending flights to and from China, South
Korea and Japan temporarily while it studied flight plans that avoided Russian
airspace.
Finnair said it would cancel flights to Russia, Japan, South
Korea and China through March 6 as it avoided Russian airspace, though flights
to Singapore, Thailand and India would continue with an added hour of flight
time.
If U.S. airlines were barred from Russian airspace, it would
lengthen some international flights and some would likely be forced to refuel
in Anchorage, industry sources told Reuters. The flights that could be impacted
include U.S. flights to India, China, Japan and Korea, the sources said.
The White House National Security Council declined to
comment on whether the United States will close its skies to Russia and
referred questions to the Federal Aviation Administration, which did not
immediately comment.
Swiss International Air Lines, a unit of Germany's Lufthansa
Canada also said it had shut its airspace to Russian
aircraft effective immediately.
There were no direct flights between Russia and Canada but
several Russian flights a day had used Canadian airspace.
An Aeroflot flight from Miami to Moscow passed through
Canadian airspace on Sunday after the ban was announced, according to flight
tracking website FlightRadar24.
A spokesperson for Canada's transport minister said air
traffic control manager NAV Canada had mistakenly permitted a banned aircraft
into Canadian airspace and steps were being taken to ensure it did not happen
again.
Transport Canada said it was launching a review into the
conduct of Aeroflot and NAV Canada leading up to the violation.
DISRUPTION TO FREIGHT, LESSORS
The aviation sanctions also spell disruption for logistics
companies and the mainly Ireland-based aircraft leasing industry.
U.S.-based United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N) and FedEx Corp
(FDX.N), two of the world's largest logistics companies, have said they are
halting deliveries to destinations in Russia. It was unclear whether both firms
continue to use Russian airspace as part of their general operations. Neither
responded immediately to requests for comment.
Asian aircraft lessor BOC Aviation (2588.HK) said on Monday
that E.U. sanctions requiring the termination of leases to Russian airlines by
March 28 would affect most of its aircraft in Russia.
The sanctions are a setback for the leasing industry after
Russian carriers were seen as more reliable performers on jet rental agreements
than many global carriers during the pandemic.
Russian companies have 980 passenger jets in service, of
which 777 are leased, according to analytics firm Cirium. Of these, two thirds,
or 515 jets, with an estimated market value of about $10 billion, are rented
from foreign firms.
Here’s a roundup:
Early birds
On Friday, Britain announces an immediate ban on Russian
private jets from UK airspace, in response to President Vladimir Putin’s invasion
of Ukraine the day before.
The Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria each say they will
ban all Russian flights from their skies, starting from midnight.
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Romania follow suit
on Saturday.
“There is no place for planes of the aggressor state in
democratic skies,” Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tweets.
Austria and Germany
Austria says on Sunday all Russian flights will no longer be
able to use Austrian airspace or land at Austrian airports from 1400 GMT.
Belgium
Belgium says it will not accept Russian aircraft either.
“Our European skies are open skies,” says Prime Minister
Alexander De Croo. “They’re open for those who connect people, not for those
who seek to brutally aggress.”
The Nordics
Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland say they too
will not accept any Russian planes.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometre (800-mile) border
with Russia, “is preparing to close its airspace to Russian air traffic,”
Transport Minister Timo Harakka tweets, without giving a time.
Italy, Spain and Malta-
Italy and Spain, too, say they are shutting off their
airspace. Malta says it is also doing so to show “full solidarity with
Ukraine”.
North Macedonia
North Macedonia’s government on Sunday also bans all Russian
aircraft from its skies, but says humanitarian flights will be exempted.
Russia retaliates
In tit-for-tat punitive measures, Russia on Sunday closes
its airspace to flights operated by carriers from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
and Slovenia.
A day earlier, it had closed its airspace to flights from
Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic.
On Friday, it banned all UK-linked planes from its skies.