Competing aviation sanctions and the narrowing of airspace available for commercial travel over Russia and Eastern Europe are adding strain on the global aviation industry, which is just starting to emerge from two years of travel restrictions related to Covid-19.
Airlines have had to reroute planes to avoid Ukraine and parts of Russia, while London and Moscow have barred each other from their respective airspace. Sharper Western sanctions on Russia and a widening conflict in Ukraine threaten to cut off more Russian airspace, a crucial corridor for many long-haul flights, particularly between Europe and Asia. The plane maker Airbus SE, for its part, could be caught up in restrictions over sales of planes and parts. The European Union is planning to ban such sales as part of sanctions aimed at punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin for the invasion of Ukraine.
