Russia has banned all flights from and to the UK in retaliation for a British ban on Russian flights, which the country called ‘unfriendly’.
The Russian civil aviation authority's ban could impact flights between the UK and Asia, however, most airlines have made a decision to avoid Russia’ airspace altogether.
The decision comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson said any scheduled service that is ‘owned, chartered or operated by a person connected with Russia, or which is registered in Russia’ would not be allowed to fly over the UK.
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Russia's aviation authority said in a statement: “From 11.00 Moscow time, a restriction was introduced on the use of the airspace of the Russian Federation for flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with the UK or registered in the UK, to points in the territory of the Russian Federation , including transit flights through the airspace of the Russian Federation.
“This measure was taken in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Air Services Agreement between Russia and the UK as a response to unfriendly decisions of the UK Aviation Authorities regarding the restriction on regular flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with Russia or registered in Russia.
“Yesterday, in accordance with the norms of international law, in order to discuss the issue of flights between the two countries, a proposal was sent to the British Aviation Authorities to hold consultations.
“This morning, a negative response was received from colleagues in the UK. This is the basis for the adoption by the Russian side of mirror measures in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Air Services between Russia and the UK in order to comply with the principle of parity and equal rights for airlines.”
Yesterday, the the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed Johnson’s announcement saying Russian flights to the UK would be banned ‘until further notice’.
A CAA spokesperson said: “Following the announcement by the Prime Minister in Parliament today, the UK Civil Aviation Authority has suspended the foreign carrier permit held by Aeroflot Russia Airlines (Aeroflot) until further notice.
“This means that Aeroflot will not be permitted to operate flights to or from the United Kingdom until further notice”.
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Claire Reid