European Union Bans Russian Airlines

European Union Bans Russian Airlines

99

The European Union is sending a strong message to Russia on the aviation front. This was first rumored a couple of days ago, but has now been made official.

Russian aircraft now banned from European Union

Several days ago we saw the United Kingdom ban Aeroflot, and then on a reciprocal basis we saw Russia ban airlines from the United Kingdom. This concept has now been taken to the next level.

The European Union has just banned all Russian aircraft from operating in its airspace. This has been confirmed by the head of the EU Commissioner, Ursula von der Leyen.

This includes flights to the European Union, as well as flights to other countries that would just use European Union airspace. It’s interesting to see the European Union not just ban state-owned Aeroflot, but also privately owned carriers like S7 Airlines, as well as private jets (which is probably what’s going to hurt the most).

For what it’s worth, the United States hasn’t yet announced plans for anything along these lines. However, Canada has banned Russian airlines, which makes Aeroflot’s flights to the United States more complicated. It would appear that Aeroflot will now be suspending flights to the United States, with Sunday’s Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York turning around almost halfway into the flight.

Russian airlines are banned from the European Union

This will almost certainly be reciprocal

I think it’s safe to assume that Russia will introduce a reciprocal flight ban, and ban European Union airlines from operating to and through Russia. That’s mostly a moot point, though, since most European Union airlines are suspending flights through Russian airspace anyway, either due to national government policies, or for operational reasons.

While there’s not yet an explicit EU-wide ban on European Union registered aircraft flying through Russia, for all practical purposes this service is very limited as is.

European Union airlines will certainly be banned from Russia

Temporary, or a new era for aviation?

Of course this situation is new and quickly evolving, so it’s anyone’s guess how this will play out. However, it sure seems to me like this could be more than just a very temporary ban. Given all the sanctions currently being imposed on Russia, I highly doubt things will go back to normal overnight.

If that’s the case, it could very well be that Russian airspace remains closed to many airlines for a significant amount of time. If that were to happen, this would radically alter many airlines’ ability to operate flights. Whether it’s routes from the United States to India, or routes from Europe to North Asia, flying without using Russia’s airspace will be difficult.

Of course in the grand scheme of what’s going on, air rights are hardly the most pressing topic…

Flying over or through Alaska might become more popular

Bottom line

The European Union has banned all Russian aircraft from operating in its airspace, whether they’re operating to the EU, or just flying over it. Russia will probably make that reciprocal, but most European Union airlines are avoiding Russian airspace at this point anyway.

This is a new era for global aviation, and it’s anyone’s guess how this plays out. Obviously this means Russian airlines will have to cancel all their EU flights, but it has much bigger implications for global aviation than that.

What do you make of the EU’s Russian aircraft ban, and how do you see this playing out for global aviation?

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  1. tuotuo Gold

    "Dozens of diplomats stage a walk-out at the UN Human Rights Council during a speech by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
    Lavrov was meant to attend the Geneva conference in person but couldn’t due to bans on Russian flights in European airspace."
    This would have been more epic without this ban.

  2. Step kir Guest

    Good idea USA do the same

  3. DCA Will Always Be "National" Guest

    Was at BCN late morning today and hadn't heard the of the (potential) ban yet. However, Aeroflot check-in line was easily 100+ pax but not a single agent to be seen. All counters completely void of anyone. Of course that's all contracted help so it's not like Aeroflot pulled them home, but curious if maybe there was some sort of all-hands meeting going on to deal with potentially stranded passengers given the current situation.

  4. Endre Guest

    Glad to entertain old white a$$holes like you, John

  5. david Guest

    @hypocricyatitsbest: You're sure living up to your name.

    Just one question: If America is the "worst human rights abuser in the world" then please explain why so many people come here? I don't see Mexicans or other Central Americans escaping to Russia or any other country.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      Money is good.
      And I'm positive that if Europe is connected to Central America by land, they would rather go there.

    2. Cassie Guest

      That's patently ridiculous and decidedly American. Immigration or lack thereof is not a metric for determining human rights abuses. Switzerland doesn't have demand from people wanting to immigrate there. I guess it's a bastion of human rights abuse. Meanwhile Saudia Arabia has millions of indigent South and Southeast Asians that immigrate there and we all know Saudi Arabia is such a beneficent protector of human rights.

      The truth is that America IS a human rights...

      That's patently ridiculous and decidedly American. Immigration or lack thereof is not a metric for determining human rights abuses. Switzerland doesn't have demand from people wanting to immigrate there. I guess it's a bastion of human rights abuse. Meanwhile Saudia Arabia has millions of indigent South and Southeast Asians that immigrate there and we all know Saudi Arabia is such a beneficent protector of human rights.

      The truth is that America IS a human rights abuser, especially when it comes to people of color, both domestically and internationally through invasion/regime change. If you are ignorant of that or can't wrap your mind around that, consider yourself lucky you and your loved ones have never been enslaved, genocided or drone striked.

  6. Luke Guest

    Looks like Aeroflot had to give up on their jfk flight today SU124 which became a 8 hour flight to nowhere, probably due to the closure of Canadian airspace!

    Somehow SU111 from Miami is directly in Canadian airspace, presumably a one time exception as the plane had to make the return flight to Russia

    1. Jon Guest

      There is an article in the Globe and Mail that NavCan accidently let it into Canadian airspace.

  7. David Guest

    The ban is now EU wide: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/27/eu-ups-the-ante-with-russia-closes-airspace-bans-media
    Canada also joins.

  8. Roamingredcoat Gold

    https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-made-giant-air-cargo-mriya-burnt-russian-shelling-2022-02-27/ Only An-225 Mriya destroyed

  9. DCharlie Guest

    Aviation related news: Mriya has been destroyed by advancing Russian forces. :(

    1. Eskimo Guest

      Russian has captured Antonov airport few days ago. It's more likely from Ukrainian munitions trying to take back the airport.

      Sad day for aviation. She deserves a better farewell.

  10. JB Guest

    Aeroflots flight today to MIA operated through Norway and Sweden like always (it just landed a few minutes ago). I assume this will change in the coming days.

  11. Cedric Guest

    Canada just did the same apparently. I think a few flight to the US go through Canada.

  12. M Cooper Guest

    I was amazed to see many 747 cargo flights headed to Moscow (on Flightaware) in and around the exact times of the initial invasion. Cutting off service to Russia both from cargo airlines refusing to go to Russia and passenger service worldwide would likely have a huge impact. Glad to see this is being explored. Since Russians mainly receive filtered pro- Russia propaganda as news - this action will perhaps speak volumes to Russian citizens.

    1. Alan Diamond

      Just as Americans mainly filtered pro-American propaganda. How many of you condemned Ukraine for the deaths of over 14k in Donbass often at the hands of weapons supplied by the American govt? I do not want see your crocodile tears now. All you are doing is choosing one side in the Ukrainian conflict and likely do not even realize it. Rather than sanctions, flight bans, promise of more weapons, the West needs to step aside...

      Just as Americans mainly filtered pro-American propaganda. How many of you condemned Ukraine for the deaths of over 14k in Donbass often at the hands of weapons supplied by the American govt? I do not want see your crocodile tears now. All you are doing is choosing one side in the Ukrainian conflict and likely do not even realize it. Rather than sanctions, flight bans, promise of more weapons, the West needs to step aside and work towards achieving a lasting peace by working with both sides.

    2. HypocrisyAtItsBest Guest

      The west will believe what they wanted to believe. Their own American government declassified thousands of documents showing crimes against humanity committed during cold war. But of course either they’re too illiterate, too lazy or pure ignorant.

    3. Chuck Guest

      Alan, both sides? Tell me you aren't serious. Or perhaps you were at this weekend's "rally" in Florida...

    4. LittleBoyPutin Guest

      Well, we should have sent more weapons apparently. Sending weapons to force communist occupiers out of your country is a good thing....perhaps we wouldn't be having such conversations if we would have been more proactive in 2014.
      BanishPutin2Siberia

  13. Klaus Guest

    Germany will close their airspace to all Russian airplanes at 15:00 locality time - that is in 4 hours

  14. JT Guest

    Sadly this story in untrue. Germany still providing open skies for Musclvitrs to get to their Italian shopping and skiing. Ditto Paris. The EU has made no such announcement.

  15. Eskimo Guest

    On behalf of the group, you're welcome.

    Without cuckoos like you, there wouldn't be a need for people like us.

  16. HypocrisyAtItsBest Guest

    Oh how I wish china would build bases in carribean and see if the US will invade them or not. Look at all the “mighty” Americans and western European here condemning the invasions. Y’all invaded Iraq in less than two decades ago including many American politicians who lied about their vote and position when asked. So wake up and learn your history…
    America is worst human rights abuser in the world ever. 900k+ died...

    Oh how I wish china would build bases in carribean and see if the US will invade them or not. Look at all the “mighty” Americans and western European here condemning the invasions. Y’all invaded Iraq in less than two decades ago including many American politicians who lied about their vote and position when asked. So wake up and learn your history…
    America is worst human rights abuser in the world ever. 900k+ died from covid for crying out loud. Way more than how much died in the war.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      China is too smart to build bases in the Caribbean just to piss off USA.
      They already baited the US in South China Sea.

      "America is worst human rights abuser in the world ever."
      Probably true, but Covid is just the tip of the iceberg. 40% of Americans are obese. These people are addicted to the 3 most dangerous substance yet, all are legal by lobbyists. They are sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.
      ...

      China is too smart to build bases in the Caribbean just to piss off USA.
      They already baited the US in South China Sea.

      "America is worst human rights abuser in the world ever."
      Probably true, but Covid is just the tip of the iceberg. 40% of Americans are obese. These people are addicted to the 3 most dangerous substance yet, all are legal by lobbyists. They are sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.
      Putin doesn't have to fear about America's mighty military power, you just have to feed Americans to death.

    2. John Guest

      Hook, line, and sinker. Works every time. Thanks for playing (again), Eskimo.

    3. Erik oj Guest

      So cute when a Russian troll uses “y’all”

  17. RF Diamond

    I support banning Russian planes. Especially the private jets. Make the oligarchs hurt.

  18. Alex Guest

    I've just looked on the Flight Radar app, and there is flights from Moscow to Germany

  19. Endre Guest

    Do airplanes like the 350 have enough fuel capacity to fly around Russia? I recall all my Tokyo to Frankfurt flights flew over northern Russia. It’s gonna be a major detour. But the sanctions are justified and the right thing to do.

    1. Peter Guest

      ETOPS limits (180 min to nearest airport) on twin engine aircraft may be the biggest problem on polar flights.

  20. Joe Guest

    So what? It takes longer for Europeans to fly to South Asia, East Asia and the Far East then.
    If Russia is infront of your doorstep and wants to ruin your life, the last thing you are thinking is how come my flights are longer now!
    You should enjoy travelling while it is still cheap. Soon crude oil will be expensive and plane ticket prices will follow. Then it does not matter anymore in which direction you gly and how long it takes.

    1. Anon Guest

      Get your facts straight ... Russia is not in your doorstep but US and rest of the world were in Ukraine i.e. in front of Russia's doorstep ...
      Think about it ... If Russia would set up a base in Mexico, would US stay idle ... There would have been no talks at all and US would have bombed entire Mexico killing every living thing in that country and you would still have been...

      Get your facts straight ... Russia is not in your doorstep but US and rest of the world were in Ukraine i.e. in front of Russia's doorstep ...
      Think about it ... If Russia would set up a base in Mexico, would US stay idle ... There would have been no talks at all and US would have bombed entire Mexico killing every living thing in that country and you would still have been cheering because you defeated evil Russia...
      Russia asked for a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO and NATO (calculating US) could not guarantee it .. Why do you think it was ... US has been setting up bases all around Russia over the last 3 decades ...

    2. LittleBoyPutin Guest

      "US has been setting up bases all around Russia over the last 3 decades"
      And yet they haven't launched a single bullet towards Russia.
      The bases are DEFENSIVE positions....and pretty darn smart considering today's environment in Putinville.

  21. Source? Guest

    Source for this news? SU2500 and SU2532 have just taken off from SVO to European destinations…

    1. Cedric Guest

      You can imagine there would be some flights allowed to bring back crews or the planes them selves. In Switzerland right now and News says most EU countries are banning Russian jets. But some of these bans might not kick in for a day or two. They show a map of countries that have or will ban and it makes it nearly impossible to fly to any European country.

  22. JetSetGo Guest

    While it’s a good step to block Russian planes, what Europe really needs to do is produce their own energy than rely on Russia. Hopefully this will teach them a lesson that maybe nuclear reactor isn’t so bad after all compare to kowtow to evil Putin.

    1. Wellness Guest

      Serves the bloody, war mongering Putin right!

    2. Jkjkjk Guest

      Lol biden voted to invade iraq. so you do have evil President that preceded putin huh.
      Or should i continue with long list of supporting genocide, funding one and orchestrating one? No this is not conspiracy theory. It’s just declassified cia document.

    3. Toobis Guest

      Try to stay on topic, the adults are having a conversation.

    4. Kevin Guest

      Germany announced their intention to invest in projects reducing reliance on Russian energy, already supporting two new LNG terminals
      https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-27/germany-backs-new-lng-plants-in-bid-to-cut-russian-dependence

  23. Ripty Guest

    This ban is way more effective on Russia than it is to the EU. Not only can Russian airlines now not fly to any EU country but they can't even fly over the EU to the USA. Also, not many EU airlines were flying over Russia unless they wanted to go to Japan or Korea, which they can divert for marginal mileage.

    1. Cedric Guest

      With Canada just announcing an initiate ban, this kills many routes to the US as well. I can’t imagine the US won’t do the same…

    2. Andrew Guest

      Well, I don’t mean to contradict you, but the reality it’s that I will impact more the European airlines involved (AF, BA, LH, KL, Finnair, VS, IB, etc) since they have the most connections North & Southeast Asia, and they will lose the connections thru their hubs to other cities. They will need to cancel or they will be expensive. Sure, Aeroflot will get hit but not like the others.
      As usual, the biggest...

      Well, I don’t mean to contradict you, but the reality it’s that I will impact more the European airlines involved (AF, BA, LH, KL, Finnair, VS, IB, etc) since they have the most connections North & Southeast Asia, and they will lose the connections thru their hubs to other cities. They will need to cancel or they will be expensive. Sure, Aeroflot will get hit but not like the others.
      As usual, the biggest winner here are the countries that play the cards well: China, UAE, Qatar & Turkey. They will get all the traffic and grow in this crisis while the EU, USA & Russia play chicken, disrupt the world, and behave like children. This is a circus that the media loves and it’s like a new series in Netflix after the end of the second season of the series Covid

  24. Tim Dunn Diamond

    Elon Musk has reconfigured the Starlink satellite system to provide increased access to Ukraine and is sending more terminal points to the country.
    The world is pitching in for the Ukrainian people.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      Another victim of Elon Musk propaganda. Same as the impractical space pod for the Thai cave rescue few years ago.

      Elon can position as many satellites above N.Korea as possible and it wouldn't matter.
      Terminal points can't even reach a million US population even in peace time. How many do you think Elon can smuggle in during war time?

      Maybe more useful to send in cargo planes to evacuate than satellite equipment.

      I'm happy...

      Another victim of Elon Musk propaganda. Same as the impractical space pod for the Thai cave rescue few years ago.

      Elon can position as many satellites above N.Korea as possible and it wouldn't matter.
      Terminal points can't even reach a million US population even in peace time. How many do you think Elon can smuggle in during war time?

      Maybe more useful to send in cargo planes to evacuate than satellite equipment.

      I'm happy to pitch in for Ukraine, but not to add more wealth and buy expensive toys from Elon.

    2. Tim Dunn Diamond

      if Musk or anyone else can provide solutions the world wants to buy, I could care less if it makes him rich.
      And he did say he would send more terminal units to Ukraine and I specifically noted that in my post

    3. Eskimo Guest

      And he said he wanted to save the Thai cave kids all while calling the actual divers who rescued the kids a pedo guy.

      I could care less if Musk actually do provide a solution the world wants to buy. The problem is the proposed solution is just fantasy. I drive a Tesla because it works. But I'm not going to pitch in for his fantasy rescue pod to save those Thai kids.
      Like...

      And he said he wanted to save the Thai cave kids all while calling the actual divers who rescued the kids a pedo guy.

      I could care less if Musk actually do provide a solution the world wants to buy. The problem is the proposed solution is just fantasy. I drive a Tesla because it works. But I'm not going to pitch in for his fantasy rescue pod to save those Thai kids.
      Like I said, he can't even reach a good number of users in USA, how does he plan to reach Ukrainians hidden in shelters?

      I have a great respect for Elon Musk but he's nowhere close to the respect he receives for the stuff he tweets.

  25. uldguy Diamond

    Time to dust off those international gates at Anchorage Intl. We’re quickly heading back to the 70’s and 80’s when just about every flight between Europe and Asia refueled and swapped crews in Anchorage. Just waiting for China to follow suit.

  26. LCFA Guest

    While this is an aviation blog…it’s so much bigger.

    All industries, not just the aviation industry, will coalesce to counter Putin/Russia.

    As it should be.

    As for the aviation industry…hello Qatar/oneworld! Followed by Emirates and ANC airport.

    Turkey remains a question, but they have to factor their NATO membership.

    1. LCFA Guest

      And if you know SWIFT…the international bank transfer system…that will be hugely impactful on Russia.

      It will make Russia the equivalent of Venezuela.

    2. Tim Dunn Diamond

      It is worth noting that Turkey closed the Bosporus Strait which is part of the connection from the Black Sea to the Med to Russian warships. Turkey must keep that strait open to civilian use but it has the right to block it for military uses.
      Air access is not unlike sea access. A few key moves can inhibit transportation - good and bad.

  27. D3Kingg Guest

    There’s a 10 year wait to buy a car in Russia. You go and pay up front and they tell you ok come back in 10 years. Morning or afternoon ? What difference does it make it’s 10 years from now? Well the plumber is coming in the morning.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      How can you be so sure about your morning appointment. The plumber isn't born yet.

    2. D3kingg Guest

      Putin is trying to clear customs and border patrol

      Destination
      Helsinki
      Occupation
      No , just visiting

  28. Luke Guest

    If this EU airspace ban is already in place, wonder how the current Aeroflot flight #103 from JFK to SVO that is about to leave Canadian airspace will manage to make it, unless it can somehow go all the way to the arctic circle north of any scandinavian countries and then shoot down into Russia, if it even has the fuel to do all that!

    1. Mike C Diamond

      If indeed the EU ban is in place (on which some doubt has been noted here), Norwegian airspace would not be affected. It could divert north around Swedish and Finnish airspace, and if range is an issue there are refuelling options in Keflavik and Murmansk.

    2. Luke Guest

      Not fully closed yet I guess, same flight mentioned crossed over Sweden & Finland directly before reaching Moscow.

  29. VJ Guest

    Big boost for the ME3. Hopefully Emirates and Qatar are able to get their A380s and A350s back in the air soon

  30. Tim Dunn Diamond

    The primary purpose of blocking Russian aircraft is for security reasons. Just because an airline is privately vs. state owned, it still carries the flag and registration of its country. EU countries that border Russia have to make sure that their airspace is not penetrated by Russian aircraft. Civilian aircraft have been used for military purposes so there is no way for a foreign country of knowing if a country at war has deployed civilian...

    The primary purpose of blocking Russian aircraft is for security reasons. Just because an airline is privately vs. state owned, it still carries the flag and registration of its country. EU countries that border Russia have to make sure that their airspace is not penetrated by Russian aircraft. Civilian aircraft have been used for military purposes so there is no way for a foreign country of knowing if a country at war has deployed civilian assets for military purposes.
    Because the primary reason for blocking overflights is primarily for safety, it is necessary for EU countries to act as a bloc.

    While the US should stand with the EU, the US' interest in blocking Russian airplanes from US airspace is much less to do with safety. The US military regularly has skirmishes with Russian aircraft and has plenty of time determine intentions as well as process passenger information which must be sent to the US for every flight that enters US airspace.

    The EU is doing what it needs to do for security; there are other mechanisms that the US can and does use.

    1. Never In Doubt Guest

      This is complete nonsense.

      But, par for the course for you.

    2. shoeguy Guest

      What complete stupidity. This analysis takes the cake.

    3. Shark Guest

      Jesus Christ, Tim! What are you talking about?

    4. Eskimo Guest

      @Tim Dunn might be right. (about drugs to get high and numb your brain)
      Russians spy satellites, ICBM, stealth fighter, drones, UAVs, submarines are all western propaganda for big evil Russia, none of them exists.

      Putin actually have to arm LearJets with nukes and reconnaissance equipment!!!!
      And the Ukrainians died from BB guns!!!!

      I agree with others, one of the most non sense hilarious post

    5. Tim Dunn Diamond

      if you idiots can't figure out that the first countries to ban Russian aircraft from its airspace was Russia's Baltic neighbors which are NATO members, then I can't help you.
      The rest of the EU fell in line because of security solidarity. Period.

      Why do you think northbound flights from Incheon make a hard and quick turn? It isn't to deprive N. Korea of overflight revenues.

    6. Tim Dunn Diamond

      if you idiots can't figure out that the first countries to ban Russian aircraft from its airspace was Russia's Baltic neighbors which are NATO members, then I can't help you.
      The rest of the EU fell in line because of security solidarity. Period.

      Why do you think northbound flights from Incheon make a hard and quick turn? It isn't to deprive N. Korea of overflight revenues.

    7. Mike C Diamond

      Security reasons can be advanced for closing airspace, but if that were the case here the closure would have been applied to all aircraft, not just EU and Russian flagged ones.

    8. Eskimo Guest

      @Tim Dunn

      Those are political reasons not security reasons.
      Which has nothing to do with NATO, otherwise you would have heard it from NATO.

      By the way, it's interesting to hear from you why do you think northbound flights from Incheon make a hard and quick turn? Can't wait to hear the @Timm Dunn logic for this.

    9. Tim Dunn Diamond

      how about YOU TELL us not just why flights turn hard after departing ICN but also why not just the US but also Canada have not banned Russian planes?
      I love it when people jump all over someone else but can't be bothered to tell us what they think the real reason is.

      The simple fact is that overflight bans are first and foremost security related - not economic. If you or anyone else...

      how about YOU TELL us not just why flights turn hard after departing ICN but also why not just the US but also Canada have not banned Russian planes?
      I love it when people jump all over someone else but can't be bothered to tell us what they think the real reason is.

      The simple fact is that overflight bans are first and foremost security related - not economic. If you or anyone else doesn't understand that concept, then you shouldn't be commenting.

      The reason why the Baltic Nato states acted to block Russian overflights isn't about economic - it is not hard to fly around them. The reason why the rest of the EU backed those states and Poland is that a bloc of 30 nations makes a detour impossible and prevents Russia from drawing those countries into the conflict via any flight.
      The US AND CANADA simply do not have the same risk.

      But of course you and one of the "geniuses" above won't bother to tell us the reason other than to parrrot that it is all economic.

      Other economic sanctions that are far larger haven't caused Putin to turn around and send his troops home to a rebelling country that wants nothing to do with what Putin is doing.

  31. mark Guest

    Why does the US let Russian planes land in and fly right over DC/NYC/US?

    https://flightaware.com/live/fleet/AFL

  32. Nadine Guest

    Make it like the cold war when the USA never flew over Russian airspace. This is how it'll stay hopefully.

    1. AlohaDaveKennedy Guest

      Yeah, the shooting down of Francis Gary Powers is an urban myth. He was never over Russian Airspace.

    2. Francis Gary Powers, Jr. Guest

      LOL, if you believe that, I have swamp land to sell you in Sverdlovsk. I have spent the last 30 plus years setting the record straight in regard to the misinformation, fake new, and disinformation surrounding my father and the U-2 Incident. In that time period, I have never heard the conspiracy theory that he was not over Soviet Airspace when he was shot down. Oh do please share the source for this conspiracy theory...

      LOL, if you believe that, I have swamp land to sell you in Sverdlovsk. I have spent the last 30 plus years setting the record straight in regard to the misinformation, fake new, and disinformation surrounding my father and the U-2 Incident. In that time period, I have never heard the conspiracy theory that he was not over Soviet Airspace when he was shot down. Oh do please share the source for this conspiracy theory so I can debunk it.

      Unless you jest since he was over Soviet and not Russian airspace, you need to take a Cold War history class.

      https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB434/ is the link for the declassified history of the U-2 Program and U-2 Incident showing my dad was shot down at his assigned altitude of 70,500 fee over the city of Sverdlovsk. Even Russian historians agree that Powers was shot down over Sverdlovsk.

      https://roadrunnersinternationale.com/cordes_u-2.html is a primary source from a fellow U-2 pilot who was on my dad's debriefing team.

      www.spypilotbook.com is the link where you can by my book that will teach you about the truth of what took place.

  33. Adam Auxier Guest

    LH Munich to Seoul flight turned back tonight and returned to Munich likely due to pending bans.

  34. Alex Guest

    USA needs to do this too. Aeroflot is still operating the JFK-SVO non-stop flight tickets. USA needs to ban air traffic to/from Russia (Aeroflot+private aircraft). Let us see how the Russian oligarchs and their families react when their penchant for shopping in New York City, Paris, and London stops.

    1. Eskimo Guest

      How naive, the oligarchs go shopping with their EU passports, on their jets registered in Caribbean, or boats from Bermuda.

      You're just stopping the average Russki from getting drunk on beaches of Turkey or UAE.

    2. JetSetGo Guest

      Actually, EU and US is hunting down those Russians with dual passports especially the ultra high net worth ones and freezing their assets including private jets and homes in Bahamas to Paris. Days of Oligarchs shopping on Madison Ave is over. I’m sure plenty of condos on billionaires row in Manhattan won’t be used any time soon (not that those are being used regularly).

    3. Eskimo Guest

      Another naive comment.
      Do you even know what freezing assets mean?
      How do one expect a government to freeze private jets and homes, in ice?
      Unless they literally put the plane in the ice, it's not frozen.
      Or the plane is equipped with nuclear warheads, and the Bahamas villa has an underground ICBM silo, but that fantasy is a whole different reason.

      Panama papers, if you even know what it is,...

      Another naive comment.
      Do you even know what freezing assets mean?
      How do one expect a government to freeze private jets and homes, in ice?
      Unless they literally put the plane in the ice, it's not frozen.
      Or the plane is equipped with nuclear warheads, and the Bahamas villa has an underground ICBM silo, but that fantasy is a whole different reason.

      Panama papers, if you even know what it is, that's the reason why you can't really do much financially to Putin or the oligarchs.

      The US EU and other Western world can bully Russians with trade embargo and it would hurt the average people, not the elite.
      Look at the trade embargo with N.Korea, Mr.Kim's iPhone and Rolls Royce Phantom says it all.
      Trade embargo with Cuba, but it never stopped Wall St. from puffing those Cohibas.
      Trade embargo with Iran, look at how many banks got fined, and Iran still have nukes.

      Again these measures only hurt the people it wasn't designed to hurt. But as 2 naive comments have shown (and so many more here), in a democratic society, invoking these useless sanctions give you positive approval ratings.

      Not that we should let Putin roam free, this is just a useless punishment for him and merely a propaganda for elections.

  35. UA-NYC Diamond

    Gonna be hard for Tucker Carlson to fly to Russia now for some paid speeches praising Comrade Putin

    1. AlohaDaveKennedy Guest

      As hard as Biden to get the rest of his money out of Ukraine.

    2. LCFA Guest

      What American would ever cheer for Russia over the USA?

    3. Pete Diamond

      Or Trump getting his golden shower money out of Moscow??? We can go forever with this back and forth.

    4. Widerightv Member

      A few of points to your very deep perspective:
      1. You don't watch Tucker that much... do you???
      2. You just watch what MSNBC edits and pieces together what he says in context.
      3. Don't send out these comments when you've been drinking... bub.

    5. Towelie196 Member

      No, the best Tucker clips are from John Oliver.

  36. Mike Guest

    USA & Canada…time to step up with same

  37. David Diamond

    Every dollar paid to Russia for their natural gas and air rights, is being partially spent on weapons to kill Ukrainians and stifle a democratic country. The US should also absolutely impose the same ban, given EU is hurting much more than the US to impose all these economic sanctions on Russia than the US.

  38. Iain Guest

    This also has the added benefit of cutting off payments to Russian air traffic control for overflying.

  39. Peter Guest

    Please include a source from the European Commission with your article.

    1. TravelinWilly Diamond

      Have you heard of Google?

    2. Peter Guest

      "The European Union has just banned all Russian aircraft from operating in its airspace. This includes flights to the European Union, as well as flights to other countries that would just use European Union airspace."

      I cannot find an official source on this. Please help me out.

      A selection of countries have bans, not all of the EU.

    3. Slomiany Guest

      Rather than being sarcastic and arrogant you could check yourself why someone is asking and than refer to Google. And the question for the source was proper as for now there is no such ban in place and today Aeroflot have entered EU air space as usual (taking longer route due to ban in east Europe countries).

    4. Josh Guest

      I'm also questioning this. It is has not been reported elsewhere. The UK and the some of Russia's neighbors have banned flights. And there was a story this evening that Germany is preparing to close its air space. But nothing about an EU wide ban.

  40. echino Diamond

    Swiss is still operating flights to/from Russia as Switzerland is not part of EU. Turkish also do. I am wondering for how long these flights will continue to operate. Russia may see a full air blockade.

    1. Jan Guest

      How would this work, especially since Switzerland is completely surrounded by EU nations?

    2. echino Diamond

      Swiss aircraft is not banned from EU or from Russia, so they can operate flights to/from Russia via EU airspace. Not sure for how long though.

Featured Comments Most helpful comments ( as chosen by the OMAAT community ).

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LCFA Guest

What American would ever cheer for Russia over the USA?

3
Endre Guest

Glad to entertain old white a$$holes like you, John

2
Eskimo Guest

On behalf of the group, you're welcome. Without cuckoos like you, there wouldn't be a need for people like us.

2
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