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As the European Union prepares to possibly ban Russian airlines and aircraft from its airspace, Germany and Netherlands’ flag carriers, Lufthansa and KLM, have announced they will not fly to Russia. The decision from both operators come as direct sanctions due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Let’s investigate further.

Lufthansa

Earlier today, Lufthansa issued a statement announcing it will not fly through Russian airspace nor operate its scheduled flights to this country. The airline said,

Lufthansa will not use Russian airspace for the next seven days due to the current and emerging regulatory situation. Flights to Russia will be suspended during this period. We continue to monitor the situation closely and are in close exchange with the authorities.”

Currently, Lufthansa operates three routes between Germany and Russia. The airline flies the routes Frankfurt-Moscow, Munich-Moscow, and Munich-St. Petersburg. In February, the airline had 133 flights scheduled, with 22,110 seats available, according to Cirium’s database.

On Saturday, Lufthansa’s flight LH718 between Munich and Seoul diverted back to Germany while flying over Russia.

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KLM is halting its flights to and through Russia. Photo: Guillermo Quiroz Martínez via @gquimar

KLM

A couple of hours prior, KLM took a similar decision. The Dutch airline even stopped two flights to Russia mid-flight and made them return to Amsterdam. Flights KL903 and KL1395 were headed to Moscow and St. Petersburg. The first was diverted while on its final approach to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport when it got the order to fly back home. Meanwhile, KL1395 was over Estonia when it turned around.

In a statement, KLM said,

“KLM has decided to cancel all flights to Russia scheduled for the next seven days. KLM will also no longer fly over Russia to other destinations during that period. The immediate reason for this is the fact that, as a result of the sanctions package agreed upon at the European level, spare aircraft parts may no longer be sent to Russia, not even for personal use. This means that we can no longer guarantee the safe return of flights to and over Russia. Alternatives are being sought for the flights that were scheduled to fly over Russia to another destination.”

KLM operates two routes to Russia. It flies to St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Europe is closing to Russia

Today, several countries closed their airspace to Russian airlines and aircraft as a direct consequence of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

At 22:00 UTC, when this article is being written, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Czechia, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom have issued NOTAM’s banning Russian aircraft. Germany could be next. Volker Wissing, Germany’s Transport Minister, is supporting blocking the country’s airspace to Russia and is preparing the order to do so, as reported by local journalist Matthias Deiss.

Nonetheless, there are news reports signaling that the whole European Union may close its airspace to Russia.

As reported by Germany’s ARD, the European Union may impose this sanction in the coming hours. Europe is also expecting Russia to retaliate, closing its airspace to European airlines and aircraft. This would mean the most significant airspace closure since the end of the Cold War.

Russia’s Siberian corridor is essential to connect Europe and Asia. Avoiding Russian airspace will increase travel times, fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and costs by European airlines.