Stories by Orowo Victoria Ojieh
Moscow has banned British airlines from landing at Russia’s airports including transiting flights from its airspace after its flagship carrier Aeroflot was prevented from flying over Britain following the Russian attack on Ukraine.
On Thursday, the UK banned Russia’s national airline Aeroflot from landing in Britain. The measure was part of sanctions introduced following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Rosaviatsia aviation authority said in a statement: “A restriction was introduced on the use of Russian airspace for flights of aircrafts owned, leased or operated by an organisation linked to or registered in the UK.”
The ban on English flights took effect from 11am Moscow time (0800 GMT), it said, and included flights transiting through Russian airspace.
Russia said the decision was taken “as a response to the unfriendly decisions of the UK aviation authorities.”
Read More: BREAKING: Ukraine downs five Russian planes, helicopter
London also froze the UK assets of Russian titans in banking and arms manufacturing, in sanctions announced after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine.
Rosaviatsia said it had sent its British counterpart a proposal to “hold consultations” on Thursday and that it had received “a negative reply” on Friday.
British Airways issued a statement notifying its customers on cancelled services and will endeavour full refunds.
“We apologise for the inconvenience but this is clearly a matter beyond our control,” the airline said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) confirmed it has suspended Aeroflot’s foreign carrier permit indefinitely.
This means that Aeroflot will not be permitted to operate flights to or from the United Kingdom until further notice.
