Much of Europe is closing its airspace to civilian Russian aircraft, barring airliners and even small private jets from flying over much of the continent.
On Sunday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the European Union is poised to bar all Russian aircraft from entering the airspace of all 27 member states.
“We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered and Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the European Union. This will apply to any plane”, von der Leyen said. “Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane. And that includes the private jets of oligarchs too.”
The EU’s planned ban on Russian air travel follows similar prohibitions imposed individually by a number of European nations.
Even before the EU announced the ban, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Ireland, and Iceland declared Sunday that Russian aircraft would not be permitted in their airspace.
“Our European skies are open skies. They're open for those who connect people, not for those who seek to brutally aggress,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted Sunday.
Germany also vowed Sunday to ban Russian air travel in its airspace.
Britain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia already imposed bans on Russian travel through their airspace prior to Sunday.
The bans not only prohibit Russian airlines and privately-owned jets from landing in most of Europe, they also bar Russian aircraft from passing through the respective countries’ airspace.
On Saturday, Russia imposed its own bans on aircraft from the Baltic states, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria, in retaliation for the closures on Russian air travel.