Russian airline Aeroflot banned from US skies over Ukraine invasion

The US finally joined dozens of other western nations today in announcing a potentially devastating ban against Russia’s national carrier.

A Russian Aeroflot plane flew over Canada hours after a ban was put in place. Picture: Flight Radar

The US has finally joined dozens of other western nations in banning all Russian aircraft from its skies as the world ramps up its punishment against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden is expected to comment on the ban during his State of the Union speech today.

While the US had not explicitly banned flights from Russia, no Russian-operated flights appeared to be arriving at major US airports in Washington, Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago over the past week however the official move could be devastating for Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot.

Earlier this week, Flight Radar, a flight tracking system, showed a number of Aeroflot’s planes making sharp returns back to Russia earlier this week.

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Aeroflot's SU124 from Moscow to New York.

Hope you enjoyed your flight. 😂 pic.twitter.com/e3dxLPfnQC

— Jakub Krupa (@JakubKrupa) February 27, 2022

American aviation giant Boeing also announced it was suspending its support for Russian airlines and its operations in Moscow amid a growing backlash to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We have suspended major operations in Moscow and temporarily closed our office in Kyiv,” the Ukrainian capital, a Boeing spokesperson said.

“We are also suspending parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines. As the conflict continues, our teams are focused on ensuring the safety of our teammates in the region.”

Aeroflot operates Boeing 737s and 777s as part of its fleet.

The US asked its citizens in Russia to “consider” leaving immediately earlier this week, as commercial airlines continued to cancel flights in the country.

“An increasing number of airlines are cancelling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines,” the US embassy in Moscow said in a statement.

It called on its citizens to “consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available.”

Delta Airlines also suspended a codesharing arrangement with Aeroflot last week.

Meanwhile, an investigation has been launched into Russia’s national carrier after it was accused of violating Canada’s airspace.

Canada announced on Sunday it was closing its airspace to all Russian carriers to protest the invasion of Ukraine.

But the ban was quickly tested when, according to Canadian officials, a plane operated by Russian airline Aeroflot flew over the country.

Aeroflot flight 111 departed Miami, Florida, on Sunday afternoon, bound for Moscow.

That looks like Canadian airspace…

Aeroflot flight #SU111 overflying Canada after our airspace was closed to Russian operators.

I believe VQ-B is a Bermuda reg? Possible the airline is trying to use that as a (incorrect) loophole to get the aircraft back to Russia? pic.twitter.com/lERgjl64Lo

— Michael King (@MKingGlobal) February 27, 2022

It seems that Russian state-owned Aeroflot is still flying over Canada — even right now. AFL 111 Miami to Moscow. pic.twitter.com/VnfsIWGUyT

— Steven Chase (@stevenchase) February 27, 2022

While there had been no direct flights between Canadian and Russian airports, Canada’s neighbour to the south, the US, has not explicity banned Russian flights.

The apparent violation of the ban is now being investigated by the government agency Transport Canada.

“We are launching a review of the conduct of Aeroflot and the independent air navigation service provider, NAVCAN, leading up to this violation,” the agency said on Twitter.

“We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations.”

Announcing the measure earlier on Sunday, Canadian Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the nation was punishing Russia.

“We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine,” Mr Alghabra said.

An Aeroflot Airbus A320 aircraft. Picture: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP

Any flight owned, chartered or used by Russian interests – including private flights – was banned from Canadian skies, transport ministry spokeswoman Valerie Glazer said.

The ban aligned Canada with the vast majority of European countries.

A growing list of European countries, including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden, have closed their airspace to Russian carriers in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Aeroflot flight #SU2091 returned from Belgrade to Moscow, via... Kazakhstan. Flight time 5h 45min instead of previous 2h 35min. https://t.co/PXoycTIhvnpic.twitter.com/AM9t0peg5w

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 27, 2022

Britain, the first to shut its airspace to Aeroflot flights, imposed the ban last Thursday.

In response, Russia has barred flights from a number of countries such as Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Poland and the Czech Republic.

– with AFP