Russia Extends Airport Flight Ban amid Ukraine Invasion

DALLAS - Due to safety concerns raised by Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine, the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia (Rosaviatsiya) has once again expanded the flight ban to many airports in central and southern Russia.

According to a report published on May 30, 2022, by the Russian news agency Interfax, Rosaviatsiya has extended the ban for airlines flying to and from 11 airports: Anapa (AAQ), Belgorod (EGO), Bryansk (BZK), Voronezh (VOZ), Gelendzhik (GDZ), Krasnodar (KRR), Kursk (URS), Lipetsk (LPK), Rostov-on-Don (RVI), Simferopol (ESL). Until June 6, 2022, these airports will be closed.

The regime of temporary flight restrictions to the aforementioned airports has been extended until 3:45 a.m. Moscow time on June 6, 2022, the Russian transport authority said in a statement, adding that all other airports in Russia will operate without limitations.

Flights should be diverted to one of five alternative airports: Sochi (AER), Volgograd (VOG), Mineralnye Vody (MRV), Stavropol (STW), or Moscow (MOZ) (DME).

Aeroflot is Russia's major carrier. Photo: Brandon Farris/Airways

Ongoing Flight Restrictions

According to aerotime.aero, Rosaviatsiya has extended the temporary flight restriction on domestic services across the listed Russian airports for the eighth time. When Russian soldiers invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, flight restrictions were imposed for the first time.

Thousands of airport workers have been laid off as a result of Western sanctions put on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, which have resulted in a major drop in passenger traffic as well as a reduction in both production capacity and human resources.

Russian airlines are limited to operating domestic passenger services and providing outbound services to a few countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia.

Featured image: S7 Airlines VP-BPC Airbus A321-211. Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways