In a “conflict zone safety bulletin”, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has renewed its recommendation to airlines not to fly into western Russian airspace, the latter already being banned by Moscow to carriers based in the European Union (EU), but remaining used by Chinese, Turkish or Gulf airliners among others.
The area concerned is located “west of 60e Eastern meridian at all altitudes and all flight levels,” added the European agency, which independently of the sovereign measures taken by Russia, recommends avoiding flying over part of this territory since the invasion of Russia. Ukraine in February 2022.
Planes potentially “targeted”
In its new bulletin, it stressed that the conflict created the risk of seeing “civilian aircraft targeted in an unintentional manner due to possible deficiencies in coordination between civil and military authorities” when the force took action. air defense. The EASA cited “incidents in airspaces that were not closed by the Russian Federation during attacks.” This creates high risks for flight operations, as the Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 8243 incident showed.”
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Thirty-eight people died in the crash of this aircraft which was flying between Baku and Grozny, capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on December 25. President Vladimir Putin admitted that Russian air defense firing took place on the day of the disaster due to a Ukrainian drone attack, but the Kremlin refused again on Thursday to admit responsibility, despite insistence from Baku
European airlines banned from Russian airspace
For the EASA, whose bulletin runs at least until July 31, Russia “has not demonstrated that it is fully capable” of reducing the risks suffered by civil aviation, linked to the conflict in its airspace. . The Agency noted “that no European airline currently serves Russia, nor uses its airspace”, Moscow having closed it in retaliation for Western sanctions from the start of the invasion of Ukraine.
“However, several airlines from third countries continue to do so, despite the risks linked to war,” recalled the EASA. This is particularly the case for Chinese companies, which thus benefit from shorter routes than their European competitors, but also for Turkish and Indian carriers, as well as those based in the Gulf countries.
The EASA can only issue “recommendations”. Each national civil aviation authority, such as the DGAC in France, remains free to prohibit or restrict flights over specific countries or areas to airlines under its jurisdiction.
