Russia has banned all UK airlines from using its airspace, including for overflights, in retaliation for the British ban on scheduled Russian airlines.
The move by the Kremlin is likely to affect the flight paths of services bound for Asia.
Earlier, UK national flag carrier British Airways confirmed it will be avoiding Russian airspace and suspending its flights to Moscow.
On Thursday night, transport minister Grant Shapps said he has banned all scheduled Russian airlines from entering UK airspace or landing in the UK, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Shapps tweeted on Thursday evening to say: “I’ve signed restrictions prohibiting all scheduled Russian airlines from entering UK airspace or touching down on British soil. Putin’s heinous actions will not be ignored, and we will never tolerate those who put people’s lives in danger.”
Courtesy of Flightradar24.com
Luis Gallego, chief executive of BA parent International Airlines Group, told Reuters: “Following the UK government decision to ban Aeroflot from landing in the UK, we have taken the decision not use Russian airspace for overflights. We are avoiding Russian airspace for the time being.
“The impact for us is not huge because right now we are only flying to a small number of destinations in Asia and we can reroute our flights.”
A BA spokesperson confirmed: “We have suspended our flights to Moscow and also the use of Russian airspace, following the confirmation of Russian government restrictions.
“We apologise for the inconvenience but this is clearly a matter beyond our control. We are notifying customers on cancelled services and are offering a full refund.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
On Thursday, prime minister Boris Johnson said Russia’s national airline Aeroflot would be banned from landing in the UK as part of a package of new sanctions in response to the invasion.
Major Russian banks will also be excluded from the UK financial system and oligarchs have been targeted.
Following the prime minister’s announcement to the House of Commons, foreign secretary Liz Truss outlined the new sanctions in full.
I’ve signed restrictions prohibiting all scheduled #Russian airlines from entering UK airspace or touching down on British soil. Putin’s heinous actions will not be ignored, and we will never tolerate those who put people’s lives in danger.
— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) February 24, 2022
She said: “We are inflicting devastating economic pain on Putin and Russia following its unprovoked and illegal invasion of Ukraine.
“Today’s unprecedented package of sanctions decisively delivers the highest economic cost we have ever imposed on the Kremlin.”
Shapps also tweeted to say he had spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart, minister of infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, and “expressed the UK’s solidarity with Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, sporting events were moved from Russia in response to the invasion. Uefa moved football’s Champions League final from St Petersburg to Paris and Formula One cancelled the Russian grand prix, which is reportedly potentially set to move to Turkey.
Main picture credit – Grant Shapps / Twitter