Non-European airlines should not fly in the western part of Russia: EU – National
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a new warning on Thursday warning non-European carriers not to fly over airspace in western Russia due to the risk of being targeted by its air defense systems.
Russia's aviation regulator, Rosaviatsiya, has criticized the warning as a new move to impose sanctions on Russian companies and an attempt to allow Western airlines to regain lost markets.
EASA said last month's crash in Kazakhstan of an Azerbaijan Airlines flight, after Russian jets shot down Ukrainian drones, showed the serious risks involved. At least 38 people died in the accident.
“The ongoing conflict following Russia's invasion of Ukraine poses the risk of civilian aircraft being unexpectedly directed into the airspace of the Russian Federation due to the possible lack of civil-military communications, and the possibility of unknowns,” EASA said.
“EASA recommends not operating in the affected airspace of the Russian Federation located west of longitude 60 ° East at all levels of altitude and flight.”
The warning was for third-country operators authorized by EASA, given that Russian airspace has been closed to European Union flights since the bloc imposed Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia's aviation sector.
A statement issued on Friday by Rosaviatsiya said that aviation safety is a priority and the recommendation was baseless.
Get daily world news
Get the day's top news, politics, economics, and current affairs, delivered to your inbox once a day.
“This recommendation is simply a continuation of the policy of Western sanctions against the aviation industry of the Russian Federation,” he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
EASA, it said, is trying to prevent a decrease in the number of flights by Asian carriers to EU destinations using the Trans-Siberian route.
“EASA, with this recommendation, is just trying to restore its lost competitive advantage to its companies,” he said.
Four sources with knowledge of the initial results of the Azerbaijan investigation told Reuters last month that Russian defense forces 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 called a “tragic incident” although the Kremlin's statement did not say Russia shot down the plane, only that a criminal case had been opened.
–Reporting by Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Edited by Rod Nickel, Ron Popeski and Matthew Lewis
