Airline industry shifts attention to Russia risks after Ukraine closure
By Jamie Freed and Allison Lampert
3 minute read

Feb 25 (Reuters) - Alaska's Anchorage Airport said airlines have started making inquiries about capacity in case routes over Russia are impacted due to the Ukraine crisis, in a sign of the conflict's growing fallout for the global aviation industry.

The airport was a popular refuelling hub for long-haul flights during the Cold War, when Western airlines were unable to access Russian airspace on routes from Europe to Asia. read more

Japan Airlines (9201.T) cancelled its Thursday evening flight to Moscow, citing potential safety risks, while Britain closed its airspace to Russian airlines, including Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), as the conflict's impact on the industry widened beyond Ukraine to Russia.

Ukrainian forces on Thursday were battling Russian invaders on three sides after Moscow unleashed the biggest attack on a European state since World War Two. read more

Airspace in Ukraine, Moldova, parts of Belarus and in southern Russia near the Ukraine border was closed as a result, giving airlines a narrower range of routing options. read more

Emirates said it had made minor routing changes to Stockholm, Moscow, St. Petersburg and some U.S. flights that were hit by the airspace closings, leading to slightly longer flight times.

OPSGROUP, an aviation industry cooperative that shares information on flight risks, said any aircraft travelling through Russian airspace should have contingency plans in place for closed airspace due to risks or sanctions.

"Russia are unlikely to initiate their own sanctions and airspace bans as they would not wish to see Aeroflot receive reciprocal bans," OPSGROUP said. "However, they may react in response to sanctions from other states."

Russia's aviation authority said it reserved the right to respond to Britain's flight ban with similar measures, the TASS news agency reported on Friday. read more

The governing council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a U.N. body, will discuss the Ukraine conflict at a meeting on Friday, a spokesperson said.

Germany's Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) said on Thursday it saw no need to cancel flights to Moscow.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 022-02-25/

26 Feb, 2022, European airspace update:
Estonia has closed its airspace to Russian planes, joining its Baltic neighbour Latvia.
Latvian carrier airBaltic has now cancelled all flights to Russia until 26 March.
Poland, the UK, Czech Republic and Bulgaria also have restrictions in place.

02/03/22 01:09

http://en.freshnewsasia.com/index.php/e ... 30-42.html

U.S. to ban Russian flights from American airspace, officials say
By David Shepardson
March 2, 20221:27 AM GMT+1Last Updated 12 min ago
1 minute read

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Reuters) - The U.S. government is set to announce a ban on Russian flights from American airspace following similar moves by the European Union and Canada, government and industry officials told Reuters.

The precise timing is unclear but is expected within the next 24 hours, the sources said.

Late on Tuesday, United Airlines said it has temporarily suspended flying over Russian airspace, joining other major U.S. carriers who have taken the step after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The White House, which declined to comment, held extensive talks with U.S. airlines in recent days.

United had been continuing to fly over Russian airspace to operate some flights to and from India in recent days. Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), American Airlines and United Parcel Service (UPS.N) all confirmed this week they had halted flights over Russia.
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 022-03-01/

Russians using Serbian loophole to avoid EU flights ban
Air Serbia has doubled flights between Moscow and Belgrade as country’s planes can cross EU airspace
Last modified on Sat 12 Mar 2022 08.28 GMT

Russians are exploiting a loophole known as the “Serbian backdoor” to flee to Europe and circumnavigate an EU-wide ban on flights to and from Russia.

Air Serbia, which is mostly state-owned, has doubled the number of direct flights from Moscow to Belgrade to 15 a week to meet rapidly rising demand after the EU banned Russian planes and airlines from its airspace, after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia responded by closing its airspace to EU and UK planes.

Serbia is not a member of the EU and has refused to impose sanctions against Russia, but its planes are free to cross EU airspace. This has made the Balkan country “the only European air corridor left open to Russia”, according to travel analytics company ForwardKeys.

Airline seat capacity between Russia and Serbia increased by 50% in the first week of March compared with the week before Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, ForwardKeys said. Capacity is set to be increased further still in coming weeks, according to the company.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... lights-ban

THAILAND:
Airspace rejig over war fears
Ukraine crisis could force rerouted travel
published : 14 Apr 2022 at 04:00

The Transport Ministry has ordered the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai) to prepare for contingencies with a possible increase in aviation and air traffic movement through Thailand in light of limited airspace access resulting from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob issued the order to Aerothai after Juan Carlos Salazar Gomez, secretary-general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), paid a formal visit to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on April 5. Thailand is home of the ICAO's office in the Asia Pacific.

Mr Saksayam said the head of ICAO and the prime minister discussed the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which has prompted the closure of airspace over Ukraine and Russian airspace to aircraft belonging to nations deemed by Moscow to be hostile to it.

Some airlines have had to take detour routes around closed airspaces and they might need to fly over Thailand.

Mr Saksayam said he has told the Aerothai to review data including airline routes and the amount of air traffic passing over Thailand before designing a contingency plan.

In some cases, the airlines might have to make refuelling stops in Thailand and so airport ground-handling capacity will need to be considered. Flight times on routes from East to West might need to add an extra three hours as a result of the detour, according to the minister.

"I've instructed state agencies to prepare the necessary information in case we need to work with the ICAO on the airspace issue," Mr Saksayam said. Thailand would not permit Russian commercial airlines with either passengers or cargo flying to Thailand at this time.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... -war-fears