By Chalotte Webster-
British airlines banned from landing at Russia’s airports and from crossing its airspace in retaliation for the ban on Russian flights is laughable because brits don’t want to go there.
The announcement by the Russian civil aviation regulator will hurt people who had already planned to go to Russia around this period, but very few brits want to visit a country run by a dictator like Vladmir Putin.
In the current climate in which the UK government has announced sanctions against Russia, not many brits will feel safe in Russia, and nor should they,
On the other hand, individuals based in Russia wanting to visit the UK but unable to do so for the forseeable future will be far more than the other way round.
Putin’s childish retaliation will not have nearly as much effect as the other way round, and the UK is determined to make life economically unbearable for Russia as much as possible.
Russia said its retaliatory move was a response to “the unfriendly decisions by the visit Russia in the near future UK aviation authorities”, a statement reflecting its arrogant outlook on a situation that has alarmed the world and continues to cause concern.
On Thursday, the UK banned Russia’s national airline Aeroflot from landing in Britain, as part of a range of sanctions introduced following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. In addition , a wave of sanctions were issued against Russian banks and a number of Russian oligarchs in the UK
UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told ITV: “I think that’s their retaliation for us yesterday banning Aeroflot from using and landing in the United Kingdom. That’s their tit for tat response.”
Russia’s civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia said: “This measure was taken in accordance with the provisions of the Intergovernmental Air Services Agreement between Russia and the UK as a response to unfriendly decisions by the UK aviation authorities regarding the restriction on regular flights of aircraft owned, leased or operated by a person associated with Russia or registered in Russia.”
British Airways said in a statement it was notifying customers on cancelled services and would offer full refunds.
“We apologise for the inconvenience but this is clearly a matter beyond our control,” the airline said.
“We will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
British Airways normally operates three flights per week each way between London and Moscow.
Following Russia’s announcement, Virgin Atlantic also said flight paths had been adjusted for some of its services between the UK, Pakistan and India. Flight times on these routes will be extended by between 15 minutes and an hour.
Virgin Atlantic apologised for the delays, adding: “The safety and security of our customers and people always comes first and we’re monitoring the situation in Ukraine and Russia extremely carefully following the escalation of conflict.”
Tracking data from Flightradar24 showed BA and Virgin Atlantic between Delhi, Islamabad and London are taking southern routes to avoid Russian airspace.