Non-European airlines should not fly in the airspace of western Russia: EU-National

the European Union The Aviation Safety Agency issued a new warning on Thursday warning non-European airlines against flying within western Russian airspace due to the risk of being inadvertently targeted by Russian air defense systems.

Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rozavyatsia, denounced the warning as a new imposition of sanctions on Russian companies and an attempt to allow Western airlines to regain lost markets.

The European Aviation Safety Agency said that the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane last month in Kazakhstan, after Russian air defenses fired on Ukrainian drones, showed the high risks involved. At least 38 people died in the accident.

The European Aviation Safety Agency said: “The ongoing conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine poses a risk of civilian aircraft being inadvertently targeted in the airspace of the Russian Federation due to potential deficiencies in civil-military coordination and the possibility of misidentification.”

“EASA recommends not operating within the affected airspace of the Russian Federation west of 60 degrees east longitude at all altitudes and flight levels.”

This warning was intended for third-country operators authorized by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), since Russian airspace has been closed to EU airlines since the bloc imposed Ukraine-related sanctions targeting the Russian aviation sector.

A statement issued by Rosaviatsiya on Friday said that air safety is its top priority and that the recommendation is unjustified.

Trending now

• Photos of the Los Angeles wildfires show widespread devastation

• The company that processes plant-based milk linked to Listeria is permanently closing its plants

She wrote on the messaging app “Telegram”: “This recommendation is nothing more than a continuation of the policy of sanctions imposed by Western countries on the aviation industry in the Russian Federation.”

She added that the European Aviation Safety Agency is trying to ensure that the number of flights of Asian airlines to European Union destinations using the Trans-Siberian route is reduced.

“With this recommendation, EASA is simply trying to restore its lost competitive advantage to its companies,” she said.

Four sources familiar with the preliminary results of Azerbaijan’s investigation told Reuters last month that Russian air defenses shot down the plane by mistake. Passengers said they heard a loud noise outside the plane.

President Vladimir Putin apologized to Azerbaijan’s leader for what the Kremlin described as a “tragic incident,” although the Kremlin statement did not say that Russia shot down the plane, and only referred to the opening of a criminal case.

—(Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Berlin – Prepared by Mohammed for the Arabic Bulletin) Editing by Rod Nickel, Ron Bobeski and Matthew Lewis