As of February 28, more than 30 countries or regions have closed airspace to Russian aircraft. On the 27th, a passenger plane from Moscow to JFK Airport in New York chose to return when it flew to the mid-Atlantic, and this was because Canada announced the closure of the airspace to Russian airlines.
Russian airlines are facing a total blockade of European airspace. Over the past week, one European and American country after another has announced a ban on Russian airlines from using their airspace or landing at airports within their borders. On the evening of the 27th, European Commission President von der Leyen said that the European Union will close its airspace to Russian aircraft. The bans apply to all aircraft from Russia, including Aeroflot.
As of February 28, more than 30 countries or regions have banned Russian aircraft. This means that there are hardly any westbound routing options for international flights from Russia.
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Aeroflot near total blockade
The United Kingdom, Moldova, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have closed their airspace to Aeroflot since early last week. Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Romania have also announced bans on Russian airlines from entering their airspace.
According to the latest news, just this past weekend, Germany imposed a three-month ban on Russian airlines. Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Spain, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy also expressed support for an EU-wide ban. Canada has also announced the closure of its airspace to Russia.
Finland, which shares a 1,300-kilometer border with Russia, has also decided to close its airspace to Russia. According to foreign media analysis, this may make the Gulf of Finland the only viable channel for Russian aircraft to travel to European countries that have not yet introduced a ban, and this channel is only 120 kilometers at its widest point.
Airlines in other countries or regions also responded immediately. On the 25th, Von der Leyen said that it would ban the sale of any aircraft and spare parts to Russia. Germany’s Lufthansa and KLM soon announced that they would suspend flights to Russia for a week. KLM explained that the ban meant that flights to Russia could not guarantee a safe return. US-based Delta Air Lines also cut ties with Aeroflot.
For Russian airlines, the shrinking of available airspace has forced them to take circuitous routes, extending distances, increasing fuel usage and raising operating costs. Tracking data from flight-tracking company Flightradar24 showed that on February 26, before several Baltic countries closed their airspace, Aeroflot made a large circle over the Nordic and Baltic Seas to fly to Budapest, adding 70 minutes to its trip.
Russian airlines are making adjustments. Aeroflot announced that it will cancel flights to Latvia and Romania until at least March 26, and Prague and Warsaw until at least March 28.
Russia has said it will impose equal restrictions on countries or regions that block its airspace. Last week, Russia banned British, Bulgarian, Polish and Czech airlines from flying over or landing on its territory.
If Russia decides to close its airspace, it will have a major financial impact on the country, said John Strickland, an aviation consultant at JLS consultancy. “Russia earns a lot of foreign currency for charging overflight rights, airspace rights and navigation rights,” Strickland said.
Nearly 195,000 commercial flights will pass through Russia’s airspace in 2021, according to the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency. Before the pandemic, the number was more than 300,000.
Regional and global routes need to be re-planned
And all this creates trouble for airlines outside of Russia. Airlines have held planning meetings and expect they will have to resort to “massive rerouting” if they are banned from Russian airspace, an airline executive said.
Strickland explained that flights between Russia and the rest of Europe would be directly affected, but the bigger problem is that if Russian airspace is closed, many routes from Europe to Asia will be significantly extended because many Flights from the UK and EU countries are all routed to Asia via Russian airspace.
Virgin Atlantic has suspended a cargo route between London and Shanghai, and said avoiding Russia would add 15 minutes to an hour to its flights between the UK and India and Pakistan. British Airways canceled three weekly flights to Moscow, and it also warned that flights to destinations including India, Pakistan, Singapore and Thailand would be forced to reroute to avoid airspace, but that would result in longer flights time and higher fuel costs. Japan Airlines also canceled a weekly round-trip flight between Moscow and Tokyo, citing security precautions.
Insiders say some flights could be forced to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska, if U.S. airlines are banned from Russian airspace. Flights that may be affected include U.S. flights to India, China, Japan and South Korea.
U.S. freight carriers United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx Corp (FedEx) said they were preparing contingency plans for their destinations in Russia, but did not specify actions being considered. Earlier, the two companies, along with DHL, the courier company owned by Deutsche Post AG, said they had suspended shipments to Ukraine.
According to US media, the aftermath of the airspace blockade highlights Russia’s important role in global air travel. The quickest flight route between Europe and the Pacific Rim is over Siberian airspace. The route has become an important part of global trade and passenger flow between Asia and Europe and the United States.
In addition, the European Union banned the sale of planes and parts to Russia, which could disrupt Airbus’ plans for jet sales. The company has 14 A350 wide-body aircraft to deliver to Aeroflot. An Airbus spokesman said the company was analysing the impact of the sanctions and would comply with all sanctions and applicable laws once they became effective. Boeing, on the other hand, has a design center in Russia and employs more than 2,000 people under contract. The company said its operations in Russia continued.