Ukraine closes airspace to civilian flights because of 'high risk' to safety
February 24, 2022, 7:19 am

Ukraine closes airspace to civilian flights because of 'high risk' to safety

Civilian air flight (File photo: Pixabay)

The Financial Post reported, citing Reuters, Ukraine said early on Thursday it had closed its airspace to civilian flights because of a “high risk” to safety, hours after a conflict zone monitor warned airlines should stop overflights over the risk of an unintended shootdown or cyber attack.

Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise said on its website: “The provision of air traffic services to civilian users of the airspace of Ukraine is suspended.”

The agency added, without providing further details: “We will additionally inform about changes in the use of Ukraine’s airspace.”

Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic in Europe, said that Ukraine’s airspace was not available because of military restrictions.

An El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Toronto made a sudden U-turn out of Ukraine’s airspace around the time a notice to airmen was issued early on Thursday deeming the area restricted, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Kyiv also turned back to Warsaw around the same time.

Old city in Ukraine (File photo: Pixabay)

The turnarounds came after Safe Airspace, which was set up to provide safety and conflict zone information for airlines after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014, said it had increased its risk level to “do not fly.”

Safe Airspace said on its website: “Regardless of the actual movements of Russian forces into Ukraine, the level of tension and uncertainty in Ukraine is now extreme,” adding that “This itself gives rise to significant risk to civil aviation.”

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It also warned of the potential for a cyberattack on Ukraine’s air traffic control.

Russia has closed some airspace in the Rostov flight information region to the east of its border with Ukraine “in order to provide safety” for civil aviation flights, according to a notice to airmen.

Before Ukraine advised of the airspace restrictions, the United States, Italy, Canada, France and Britain had told their airlines to avoid certain airspace above eastern Ukraine and Crimea but stopped short of a total ban.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said in its latest guidance on Feb. 9 that a cross-border conflict between Ukraine and Russia could pose a direct or indirect threat to civil aviation.

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Germany’s Lufthansa halted flights to Ukraine from Monday, joining KLM which already suspended flights.

Two Ukrainian airlines last week disclosed problems in securing insurance for some of their flights while foreign carriers began avoiding the country’s airspace as Russia massed a huge military force on its border.

Source: financialpost

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.