Aeroflot Banned From The United Kingdom As Part Of Russian Sanctions

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The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Boris Johson, has announced the country is banning the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot from operating to and from the country and also using its airspace. It is the first country to officially ban the State-owned airline, as Russia invades Ukraine.

Aeroflot banned from the UK

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Boris Johnson told parliament that Britain has banned Russia’s flag carrier, Aeroflot, from the UK. This ban is part of a package of sanctions against Moscow, which included sanctions against Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB, and other financial institutions as well as Russian oligarchs.

The UK is the first government worldwide to ban Russia’s Aeroflot following the Ukraine invasion on Thursday morning. Aeroflot won't be able to land in UK airports nor fly through UK's airspace.

The Russian flag carrier Aeroflot flew daily between Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) and London Heathrow International Airport (LHR). The flight number is SU2578. Today’s flight landed at 12:05, local time, and was operated using an Airbus A320, registration VP-BRG, per FlightRadar24.com.

The aircraft left the UK a few hours later, operating Aeroflot’s flight SU2579 from London to Moscow.

Simple Flying reached Heathrow and Aeroflot for comment. Heathrow declined to comment.

A UK Civil Aviation Authority 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”.

Manchester United also breaks up with Aeroflot

The football squad Manchester United is also reportedly looking to end their nine-year association with Aeroflot. The Red Devils are looking to disassociate themselves with their long-term sponsors, according to local media outlets.

Manchester United and Aeroflot’s partnership dates back to 2013, and they inked a new deal in 2017 worth £40 million that would run until 2023. The Premier League squad usually flies with Aeroflot to their European games. Still, their Tuesday service to Madrid for their Champions League game with Atlético Madrid was canceled at the last minute. Instead, Manchester United flew with Titan Airways, a UK-based charter airline.

More countries could follow UK's initiative to ban Aeroflot. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Could other countries follow?

Aeroflot has 4,878 international flights scheduled in February 2022, according to data provided by Cirium.

The Russian-state airline leading international destinations (besides Simferopol, Ukraine) are Minsk, Dubai, Yerevan, Istanbul, Milan, Bishkek, Male, Berlin, Tashkent, and Samarkand. Each of these destinations has between 52 and 101 scheduled flights this month.

It shouldn’t be surprising if more governments start banning flights from Aeroflot as the hours go by. Most likely, these bans would come from the countries members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), an alliance consisting of 30 independent members and to which Ukraine was looking to enter.

This month, Aeroflot operates 1,979 monthly flights to 41 destinations in NATO countries, all of which could easily ban flights from the airline, following the UK’s government decision.

Aeroflot’s destinations in NATO countries are: