Early today, Ukraine closed its airspace to all civil flights citing a high risk to safety while EASA also warned about the bordering areas of Russia and Belarus because of military actions. Russian also attacked multiple airports and bases in Ukraine.
This article is a developing story.
Closed Airspace
According to Reuters, the Ukraine State Air Traffic Services Enterprise said the country’s airspace was closed at 00:45 GMT on Thursday, with also the air traffic services suspended, users should avoid an area of at least 100NM within the borders of Belarus and the Russian Federation surrounding the borders of Ukraine. En route traffic which was using Ukraine airspace for overflights had already vacated the airspace.
“In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft. The presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems pose a high risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels.”
the agency said in a conflict zone bulletin.
With this, Ukraine International was forced to suspend all the regular and charter flights, on 14th February the airline sent 5 Boeing 737-800 to storage in Castellon, Spain.
Ukraine budget airline Bees also sent its all fleet of four Boeing 737-800 to Montpellier-Méditerranée Airport because of insurance complications, with lessors not keen to keep jets there amid the threat of conflict.
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced today the ban of Aeroflot from flying to the United Kingdom and the UK Civil Aviation Authority said it had suspended Aeroflot’s foreign carrier permit.
“This means that Aeroflot will not be permitted to operate flights to the United Kingdom until further notice,”
said the UK Civil Aviation Authority
Military Attacks on Airports
According to the General Staff of Ukraine, Russian missile and bomb strikes have hit airports in multiple cities including the capital Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odessa, Kherson, Mariupul, Ivano Frankivsk and Kramatorsk.
Ukrainian authorities confirmed Russian attacked Hostomel International Airport – located at 25 km from Kyiv – with 20-30 helicopters and multiple missiles. This airport is owned by the Antonov aircraft manufacturing company and is also an important cargo and testing facility. The only An-225, the world’s largest operating aircraft, is currently inside the hanger at Hostomel.
The next tweet shows a missile hitting Ivano-Frankivsk Airport, the city is located in the Western part of the country, 120 miles from Poland and Romania. This airport is the home of the 114th Brigade of Ukraine Air Force, which operates Mig-29s fighters.
From JACDEC on twitter, an Ukrainian Air Force Antonov An-26 was destroyed in a crash landing on a field in Kiev Region, Ukraine with 14 people on board. It is alleged the transport aircraft was attacked by Russian fighter aircraft during Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A Russian Air Force Antonov An-26 (RF-36074), carrying paratroopers was also reportedly shot down by Ukrainian Forces in the Voronezh region close to the border of Liskinsky and Ostrogozhsky regions. Unconfirmed reports claim that one of the Russian pilots was killed.
Cover Photo via FlightRadar24