Ukraine Closes Down Airspace for Civilian Flights as Conflict Escalates

Lufthansa airplanes are seen at the Terminal 1 of the new Berlin-Brandenburg Airport 'Willy Brandt' in Schoenefeld near Berlin, on Oct. 29, 2020. Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters

Ukraine has shut down its airspace for civilian flights following Russia’s invasion of the country as flights modified routes and aviation authorities around the world take various precautionary measures.

The suspension of air traffic services to civilian users came into effect on Feb. 24, 00:45 UTC, according to an update provided by the Ukraine State Air Traffic Services Enterprise. Airspace within 100 nautical miles of the Ukrainian border was classified as posing a risk for aviation by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), with Belarus, Moldova, and Russia being part of the affected countries.

“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 poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels,” said the agency.

The EASA notice came after the Russian Ministry of Defense sent an urgent message warning about a “high risk of flight safety of civil aircraft” due to the use of weapons and military equipment and asked Ukraine’s air traffic control to soon cease all flights.

Multiple flights made course adjustments around the time Ukraine’s airspace closure was announced. Many Polish Airlines flights to Kyiv from Warsaw turned back, while an El Al flight heading to Toronto from Tel Aviv made an abrupt U-turn out of Ukrainian airspace.

Safe Airspace warned of a primary risk of “unintended targeting of civil aircraft by military” around Ukrainian borders. Secondary risks to aviation activities include the potential non-availability of the Ukrainian Air Traffic Control Service due to a cyberattack and “other unforeseeable non-normal operating environment,” the organization warned.

“Regardless of the actual movements of Russian forces into Ukraine, the level of tension and uncertainty in Ukraine is now extreme. This itself gives rise to significant risk to civil aviation. For this reason, and based on OPSGROUP member discussions, we assess Ukraine as Level 1 - Do Not Fly,” said Safe Airspace.

Prior to Ukraine announcing a ban on civil aviation within its airspace, several countries like the United States, Britain, Canada, France, and Italy had advised their airlines to avoid flying through certain airspace above Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Air France canceled flights to and from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as a “precautionary measure.” Lufthansa earlier announced the suspension of flights to and from Odessa and Kyiv until the end of this month. Dutch carrier KLM was one of the first international airlines to announce a suspension of flights to Ukraine early in February.

Tensions in Ukraine have previously resulted in an aviation tragedy. In 2014, a missile hit a Malaysian Airline flight traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam. The flight was shot down over the eastern Ukraine region, with an investigation revealing that the missile used in the attack belonged to the Russian military. All 298 people on board the flight ended up dead.