The Russian invasion of Ukraine has already killed hundreds of people, displaced thousands of people, and sent shockwaves around the world.
International air travel has been hit hard in multiple ways since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the attack, with closed airspaces in and around the conflict leaving some stranded and flights rerouted, impending fuel price hikes, airlines and countries cutting off Russia and its national airline, and the European Union’s potentially impactful sanctions on aircraft parts.
Airspace Restrictions
Ukraine, Moldova, and a portion of Belarus have completely shut down their airspace, causing flights to and from those countries to be canceled, as well as preventing routine aviation traffic from going through. Due to fears of “mid-range missiles penetrating into controlled airspace,” the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) doubled its existing security alert on Friday, extending the warning for airlines and other civilian operators from 100 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles from the Ukrainian border with Russia. The EASA said on Thursday that “operators should exercise extreme caution.”
“In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft,” the agency said. “The presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels.”
According to flight tracking services, the airspace over Ukraine and its border with Russia is empty as a result of the restrictions and military flights going dark. According to the flight tracking website FlightRadar24, an El Al airplane destined for Toronto executed a rapid U-turn out of Ukrainian airspace early Thursday. According to Reuters, a LOT Polish Airlines flight going to Kyiv turned back, as did Air India and Aegean Airlines flights bound for Kyiv.
Flying over conflict zones carries genuine risks, as seen by the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 by a Russian-made missile, which killed 298 people. According to Western officials and a Dutch-led probe, Russian President Vladimir Putin is to blame for the tragedy, which Putin denies.
The United States’ Reaction
The United States is expanding the area around Ukraine where American pilots are prohibited from flying, with the Federal Aviation Administration announcing on Thursday that the no-fly zone will now “cover the entire country of Ukraine, the entire country of Belarus, and a western portion of Russia.” Military actions are exempt from the restrictions.
Prior to this change, the FAA has only restricted flying in Ukraine’s eastern region since 2014, despite the fact that no United States carriers travel to or from Ukraine.
Since January, the United States has issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory, advising citizens to avoid traveling to Ukraine due to “ongoing tension along the Ukrainian border, the potential for harassment of United States citizens, the embassy’s limited ability to assist United States citizens in Russia,” as well as Covid-19 and other factors. The alert was amended on Thursday, advising Americans not to travel to Ukraine “due to armed conflict and COVID-19,” and warning that the US government would be unable to remove United States nationals.
Delta stated on Friday that the majority of its partnership with Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, will be halted. The two airlines have a codesharing arrangement that allows Delta passengers to be assigned to Aeroflot flights and vice versa. According to Delta, the deal has been canceled with immediate effect.
The Delhi-New York flight of American Airlines has been rerouted. According to flightradar24 and Reuters, United Airlines continues to use Russian airspace for flights between Delhi and Chicago and Delhi and Newark. According to CNN Business, there has been no impact on United’s flights.
As news of the invasion spreads, airline stocks have fluctuated, and ticket costs are projected to climb as a result of higher gasoline prices and perhaps longer flight patterns as a result of the simultaneous invasions.
European Initiatives
Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister, announced on Friday that his country is planning to limit its airspace to Russian flights. “I have authorized the formulation of a council of ministers resolution that will result in the closing of Poland’s airspace to Russian planes,” Morawiecki wrote on Facebook.
Czech Minister of Transport Martin Kupka tweeted Friday that Russian carriers would be barred from the Czech Republic’s airspace beginning at midnight, in conjunction with Poland. Czech Railways (CD) will also provide free train tickets to any Ukrainian citizen willing to flee the country on one of its trains, according to Kupka. Anyone with a Ukrainian passport is eligible for free tickets.
All Russian civilian aircraft have been barred from entering British airspace as part of a package of measures issued by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, which took effect at midnight on Friday and will expire on May 23. The move prompted Russia to retaliate by doing the same. According to a statement issued by Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport on Friday, all UK-registered flights, as well as any aircraft owned, leased, or managed by a UK-associated individual, are now prohibited from entering Russian airspace.
According to its website, Russian national airline Aeroflot currently offers direct flights between Moscow and London-Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
British Airways, which flies three times a week to Moscow, has halted all flights to the Russian capital. British Airways issued a statement saying, “We apologies for the inconvenience, but this is clearly a problem beyond our control.” “We are alerting customers on canceled services and are offering a full refund,” the airline said, adding that some Asian flights may be redirected, perhaps resulting in longer trips.
“The impact for us is not great because we are only going to a small number of destinations in Asia right now and we can reroute our flights,” said Luis Gallego, CEO of IAG, which owns British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and Vueling.
As tensions rose earlier this week, some commercial airlines, notably Lufthansa and Air France, halted flights to Ukraine. Virgin Atlantic has also delayed cargo flights between London and Shanghai while it investigates rerouting those services, and Wizz Air in Hungary has informed customers that all flights to and from Ukraine have been suspended until further notice. On Thursday, the airline announced plans to evacuate Ukraine-based staff, their families, and aircraft.
As a result of the blocked airspace and current scenario, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) stated on Thursday that flights to and from Ukraine will be suspended until February 27. UIA maintains a communication with Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Infrastructure, according to the statement. “Given the challenging situation in martial law, the airline draws attention to the risk of forced delays and difficulties in feedback on service channels of communication with passengers and asks for patience,” UIA informed clients.
After a six-hour meeting on Friday, the European Union resolved to prohibit the transfer of aircraft and spare parts required for the upkeep of Russian fleets, said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Decisions Made in Russia
In addition to the United Kingdom’s flight restriction, Russia has stopped domestic flights to and from a number of airports near the Ukrainian border, including Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar, and Stavropol, until March 2.
The decision was made “to provide safety” for civil flights, according to a letter to pilots.
