Korean Air has become the latest carrier to suspend its flights to Moscow since the Ukraine conflict began, while Japanese airlines are extending their cancelation of most European flights.
Southeast Asian nations are taking bolder steps toward reopening their borders as the vaccinated travel lane (VTL) scheme expands to more countries and cities within the region, which has seen one of the slowest recoveries in international flying.
Shipping rates are rising again in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while the inability of Russian-owned freighters to operate as usual takes significant capacity out of the market.
As airspace over Russia and Ukraine is effectively closed, except for domestic flights in the former, the most immediate consequence of the war for airlines is the impact on carriers’ flight operations.
Turboprops accounted for all but one of 2021’s fatal airliner accidents, with more attention to be paid to improving safety in that market sector as a result, IATA’s 2021 safety performance report revealed.
Airlines forced to cancel operations through Russian airspace connecting Europe and Asia are generally re-routing south, but the old Arctic route via Anchorage has become of interest again.
Sanctions targeting Russia’s airlines and broader economy will disrupt one of the strongest post-downturn domestic-market recoveries and put much of its international flying at immediate risk.
Russian carriers have been barred from almost all of Europe’s airspace as part of sanctions imposed by the European Union following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
AerCap is ceasing all leasing activity with Russian carriers and Finnair has withdrawn its first quarter financial guidance, cautioning that prolonged Russian airspace restrictions will render most of its Asian network unviable.
Ukrainian aircraft maker Antonov deferred comment after multiple officials and news outlets reported that the An-225 Mriya heavy airlifter was destroyed during fighting at an airport near Kyiv.
A bloody day of fighting paused shortly after nightfall in Ukraine with Russian invaders advancing across the country, although more rapidly from the south than the east and north, according to Ukrainian officials.
A fierce battle has erupted around the flight test center for Antonov aircraft company near Kyiv, with a Russian air assault fighting a brigade of Ukrainian national guard troops for control of the airport, Ukraine’s Ministry of the Interior says.
The Council of the European Union has recommended that member states should lift restrictions on fully vaccinated non-EU travelers starting March 1, as it shifts toward a more person-centered approach to COVID-19 prevention.
The FAA is mandating new limitations for most older Boeing 737s operating at airports with 5G C-Band deployment, warning that signal interference may cause malfunctions to automated systems that rely on the aircraft’s radio altimeter.
Greater Bay Airlines has been cleared to fly more than 100 passenger routes across the Asia-Pacific region, providing further competition for Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines.
The first major change in decades to air traffic control arrangements in the Gulf is imminent as the creation of a new Qatar flight information region (FIR) nears its final stages.
