Chinese airlines are avoiding Russian airspace in newly approved routes to and from the United States, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing flight tracking website FlightAware and industry officials. The US Department of Transportation (USDOT) approved four new weekly flights between US and China on May 18, by carriers including Air …
Read More »‘Chinese spy balloon’ breached US airspace – Pentagon
The Pentagon has spotted what it believes to be a surveillance balloon in the northern US and is monitoring it closely, though the White House has advised not to take military action to shoot it down. The balloon, which senior officials say belongs to China, was first spotted on Wednesday. …
Read More »Switzerland closes airspace
Switzerland closed its airspace for several hours on Wednesday for safety reasons, after a computer glitch. The air traffic control service Skyguide grounded all planes early in the morning, and later announced: “the technical malfunction… has been resolved,” without clarifying what the initial problem was. The move paralyzed the country’s major airports in …
Read More »Russian airspace closure costs neighbor millions – media
The closure of Russian airspace has resulted in a number of problems for Finnish air carriers, including the need to re-route flights and the loss of around €1.5 ($1.58) million per month in air navigation fees, the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti reported this week, citing the head of air traffic control …
Read More »Russia closes airspace to 30+ states
Russia has closed its skies for over two dozen European countries, as well Canada, on Monday. The move came after the EU banned Russian airlines from crossing into their airspace. European nations began banning Russian-owned airlines and Russian-registered aircraft shortly after Moscow launched a military operation against Ukraine early Thursday …
Read More »Global insurance companies to stop insuring aircraft for Ukrainian airspace flights – airliner
Ukraine’s SkyUp Airlines has released a statement, confirming that major international insurance companies notified Ukrainian carriers on Saturday that they will stop covering aircraft flying over Ukraine “within 48 hours.” According to the statement, the decision was made in light of “growing risks of a military conflict breaking out.” SkyUp …
Read More »Chinese military aircraft detected in Taiwan airspace
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense said the island’s combat air patrol were deployed, “radio warnings issued and air defense missile systems deployed to monitor the activity” of thirteen Chinese aircraft spotted in the southwestern part of the air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Beijing’s planes have made frequent flybys over the island, …
Read More »Algeria bans French military aircraft from its airspace amid diplomatic row with Paris
The French military became aware of Algiers’ decision on Sunday morning when they filed another flight plan with Algerian officials but were denied overflight authorization, Colonel Pascal Ianni, a spokesman to the French Chief of the Defense Staff, told the media. France had used the route to deploy troops and …
Read More »Venezuela accuses US military aircraft of violating its airspace from Colombia, warns it might ‘respond forcefully’
A C-17 military transport aircraft belonging to the US Air Force flew into Venezuela’s Zulia state, which borders Colombia, on Thursday evening, its Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a statement. The plane allegedly flew on this course for some 14 nautical miles (26 kilometers), the ministry said. It …
Read More »Flights coming to or from Lithuania to be banned from using Belarusian airspace as Vilnius reacts to ‘hijacking’ of Ryanair plane
On Sunday, a Ryanair flight from Greece was forced to make an emergency stop in Belarus, because of a supposed bomb threat. Once it landed at Minsk Airport, police boarded the aircraft and arrested passenger Roman Protasevich. The activist is currently an employee of Belamova, an outlet founded by Igor …
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