Moscow: The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) said on Sunday that Russia has introduced restrictions on flights operated by airlines of 36 countries in a reciprocal response to the bans imposed on Russian flights.
“In accordance with the norms of international law, as a response to the ban by European countries on the operation of flights of civil aircraft operated by Russian air carriers and/or registered in Russia, a restriction was introduced on the operation of flights by air carriers of 36 countries,” the agency said in a statement.
The restrictions will affect airlines of Austria, Albania, Anguilla, Belgium, Bulgaria, the British Virgin Islands, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark (+Greenland, Faroe Islands, the territorial sea), Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Flights from those countries can be operated upon a special permission issued by Rosaviatsiya or the Russian Foreign Ministry from now on, the agency said. The European Union completely closed its airspace to all Russian planes, including private jets, on Sunday.
According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, because of the ban, the United Nations failed to ensure the participation of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva later this week,Â
