The Russian state-owned airline Aeroflot has canceled all international flights except to Minsk, Belarus, from March 8th. This announcement comes after the country's aviation agency has recommended that airlines with foreign leased aircraft not fly to international destinations.

This recommendation ensures that all foreign leased aircraft are not repossessed by their lessor. The leading lessor of these aircraft are based in Ireland, which has recently imposed sanctions on the country, and the leasing company has terminated their agreements.

One exception

As previously mentioned, Aeroflot has canceled all international flights except for Minsk in Belarus. This exception is because Moscow and their neighbors - Belarus, have an excellent relationship and are allied with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Aeroflot flies to Minsk four times a day, according to Flightradar24.com. These flights are currently unaffected. Belarus' state-owned airline, Belavia, also flies from the Belorussian capital to the Russian capital.

Other flights suspended

Aeroflot had a significant destination list. Some included cities in the United States like Washington, New York, Miami, Los Angeles.

The airline also flew to destinations in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe. They flew to Dubai, Beirut, Tel Aviv, and Tehran, Iran, in the Middle East. Notable European destinations included Paris, London, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Dublin. All of these are suspended.

UK Government told British citizens to leave Russia

On Saturday, the United Kingdom Government has told all British nationals in Russia to leave the country "if it is not essential to stay", ITV News reported. The UK Foreign Office has said that Britons should use the remaining commercial flights to leave Russia.

The United Kingdom has joined its European and American counterparts in imposing strict sanctions on the Kremlin. These sanctions include the ban on all Russian airlines - including Aeroflot and private jets landing in the UK.

The European Union implemented a similar move. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen announced that the EU would be banning all Russian registered aircraft, all flights coming from Russia, and all Russian airlines from flying in EU airspace. In a State of the Union address, United States President Joe Biden also announced a similar ban on all Russian airlines.

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The threat of repossession

Aviation Weekly estimates that over half of all commercial aircraft in Russia are leased. We reported that all aviation lessors must terminate their leasing agreements with Russian airlines under European Union sanctions in the next thirty days.

Aercap (an Irish company) is one of these lessors and has many aircraft in Russia operated by Russian airlines. These lessors have reportedly been setting up special task forces to try and get the planes out of Russia and back into the company's hands.

According to ch-aviation, 149 of Aercaps aircraft are currently being operated by a Russian airline. 777 of 980 Russian commercial planes are on lease. Of which, 515 are from foreign lessors.

What are your thoughts about Aeroflot halting its international flights apart from services to Belarus? What do you make of the overall situation? Let us know what you think in the comment section.