A growing number of countries announced on Sunday that they were closing their airspace to Russian planes in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain joined at least a dozen European countries that had made similar announcements. “There is no room in Dutch airspace for a regime that applies unnecessary and brutal violence,” the infrastructure minister for the Netherlands, Mark Harbers, said on Twitter. Denmark’s minister of foreign affairs, Jeppe Kofod, said he would push for Russian aircraft to be banned from the entirety of the European Union’s airspace at a meeting of the bloc’s ministers of foreign affairs on Sunday.The low-cost, Hungary-based airline Wizz Air also said on Sunday that it would cancel its flights to Russia for at least a week. The airline said that, because of the sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union and the United States, it would not be able to access spare parts for its planes in Russia. Britain has banned all flights by Russia’s flagship carrier, Aeroflot, from its airspace, and the German airline Lufthansa said on Saturday that it would not use Russian airspace for the next week. Germany banned Russian aircraft, with the exception of humanitarian flights, from its airspace starting Sunday for the next three months. In response to the measures, the Russian government has banned flights from several European countries, and S7, Russia’s second-largest airline, suspended its flights to Europe.<br/>
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A growing number of countries announced on Sunday they’re joining a string of nations in closing their airspace to Russian aircraft after Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine. EC President Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union would shut down its airspace for planes owned, registered or controlled by Russians, “including the private jets of oligarchs.” Canada’s transport minister, Omar Alghabra, said his nation was closing its airspace to all Russian planes to hold the country accountable for an unprovoked attack on its neighbor. The European Union action came after many of its member countries had said they were barring Russian planes or planned to do so by Sunday night. Additionally, officials for Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Austria and Iceland all separately announced the measures that would further isolate Russia. It follows similar restrictions from the UK, Poland, Romania, Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. The moves by the nations put even more pressure on Russia, with countries banding together to impose wide-reaching sanctions on Russia and its elite. A ban means Russian aircraft can’t fly over or land in the nations that impose the rules, which often means lengthy and costly reroutes. Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Twitter his government is pushing for a European Union-wide ban of Russian flights at a meeting of the bloc’s ministers of foreign affairs. An EU official told Reuters that could be a part of fresh sanctions. “We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine,” Canada’s minister of transport Omar Alghabra said in a tweet. Some airlines and delivery services had already been rerouting planes around the potential conflict zone in the days before Russia began its attack. United Parcel Service said Sunday it would temporarily suspend packages going into Russia. FedEx has also paused inbound service to Russia. The company will still provide domestic and export service in Russia where conditions allow, a spokesperson said in an email.<br/>
Russian airlines will be prohibited from acquiring aircraft, spares and equipment under a sanctions initiative to be imposed by the EC. Commission president Ursula von der Leyen outlined the measures on 25 February, following a special meeting of the European Council. She says the Commission will “ban the sale of all aircraft”, as well as related equipment, to Russian carriers. “This will degrade the key sector of Russia’s economy and the country’s connectivity,” adds von der Leyen, pointing out that Russia is “massively depending” on European-, US- and Canadian-built aircraft. While the Russian government has been re-invigorating its commercial aviation manufacturing industry, with the aim of being less dependent on foreign models, key programmes to produce modern aircraft are still in the developmental stage. Russian carriers have tended to acquire foreign-built aircraft through leasing arrangements, rather than direct orders from the manufacturer. Ural Airlines has built a fleet of 54 Airbus single-aisle jets, for example, through such agreements – the carrier has taken delivery of two new aircraft – both A321neos, with the Bermuda registrations VP-BFM and VP-BFJ – during February. It has been planning to take another pair by the end of this year. S7 Airlines is similarly a large operator of leased Airbus single-aisle models, with some 70 jets, also Bermuda-registered. Aeroflot has placed direct orders with Airbus, with a deal for 22 Airbus A350-900s, of which eight have been delivered. All three carriers are among the main five operators in Russia.<br/>
The closing of Russian airspace to many European airlines has so far spared Asian carriers that have had a slower recovery from the pandemic than rivals elsewhere in the world. The European Union on Sunday shut its skies to Russian planes in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, and Moscow had already imposed similar bans on flights from many European countries. As the likes of British Airways, Air France-KLM and Deutsche Lufthansa AG scrap flights across Russian territory, Asian carriers can still fly over the country, the shortest route between the two regions. Asia has less exposure to Russia and Ukraine,” said Singapore-based aviation analyst Brendan Sobie. “But Asia is behind in reopening and recovering” from Covid-19 restrictions, which grounded much of their traffic over the past two years. As of Sunday afternoon, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, China Eastern Airlines and Air China were still flying over Russia, which makes up about one-eighth of the world’s landmass and spans across much of northern Europe and Asia. The country’s vast reach makes it difficult for carriers to avoid on many intercontinental routes. <br/>
Leasing firms are facing the challenge of recalling jetliners worth billions of dollars from Russian airlines, as sanctions imposed over the Ukraine invasion threaten carriers’ ability to fund and operate rented planes. EU sanctions announced on Sunday ban the supply of “all goods and technology” linked to aircraft. Planes can’t be insured, either. That means leasing firms will be required to terminate all contracts with Russian airlines over the next 30 days, said a senior leasing executive with aircraft in the country. More than half of the active commercial aircraft based in Russia are leased, mostly from companies based abroad, according to analysis from IBA Group, which advises airlines, planemakers, banks and lessors. That tally includes scores of aircraft at flag-carrier Aeroflot. More than half of the active commercial aircraft based in Russia are leased, mostly from companies based abroad, according to analysis from IBA Group, which advises airlines, planemakers, banks and lessors. That tally includes scores of aircraft at flag-carrier Aeroflot. <br/>
The world's largest cargo plane, the Ukrainian-made Antonov-225 Mriya, was burnt in a Russian attack on Hostomel airport near Kyiv, Ukrainian state arms manufacture Ukroboronprom said on Sunday. "The Russian occupiers destroyed the flagship of Ukrainian aviation - the legendary An-225 Mriya. It happened at the Antonov airfield in Hostomel near Kyiv," Ukroboronprom said on its Facebook page. It said that the plane restoration would cost more than $3b and take a long time.<br/>
Anonymous messages threatening to place bombs at Moscow's train stations and airports have been received by the authorities and checks are being made, the RIA news agency reported on Saturday. It also said that the Russian embassy in London was in touch with British police after receiving phone threats related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow had described as a "special military operation."<br/>
As if the airline industry needs yet another hurdle to overcome after two of the worst years it has ever experienced, carriers are now wondering what will happen to travel in Europe given the war in Ukraine. The CEO of Airbus, which is based in Toulouse, France, believes an expected surge in travel this summer is still likely. “I don’t think it impacts the internal European markets,” Guillaume Faury told CNBC while visiting New York for meetings late last week. Faury admits travel in Eastern Europe near Ukraine may come under pressure, but overall he is optimistic air travel will surge in the months ahead. “I would tend to say yes, it’s very likely that the majority of the travel in the world will recover as we’re expecting by the end of the pandemic.” Faury’s optimism is matched by almost every airline CEO who has pointed to 2022 as a big year in rebuilding travel lost during the pandemic. At one point transatlantic flights were down more than 75%. By early this year it had improved but was still down 36%, according to Jefferies. In a research note outlining the risk of transatlantic travel falling due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu wrote, “The vast majority of European air traffic is driven by Western Europe, which should remain relatively unaffected unless Russia conducts a further offensive into NATO territory.” For Airbus, as well as its competitor Boeing, Russia’s attack on Ukraine raises the question of what impact sanctions may have on their plans to ramp up aircraft production this year. So far, the sanctions have not targeted Russia’s ability to export aluminum, steel or titanium, which are crucial to the production of airplanes. Separately, Faury says Airbus has little exposure to supply chain pressure that may develop in Eastern Europe. “The security of supply is guaranteed independently from sourcing that could be challenged from Russia,” he said. Guaranteeing the supply chain will be critical for Airbus as it ramps up production this year both in Europe and in the U.S. thanks to strong demand for the A320 and A220, both built at the company’s plant in Mobile, Alabama. Faury expects production rates for both planes to grow by at least 20% annually over the next three years. “There are not many parts of the aviation ecosystem which are ramping up at 20% a year,” said Faury. “That’s what we have in Alabama.” Longer term, Airbus is investing heavily to develop of hydrogen-powered aircraft that would have dramatically lower emissions.<br/>