European countries ban Russian airlines from their airspace
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Russian Aeroflot Airbus A321 landing at Barcelona airport on Feb. 25. Photo: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Belgium, Iceland and Denmark on Sunday joined a growing list of European countries who say they are banning Russian airlines from their airspace.
Driving the news: Estonia, Lithuania, Romania and Latvia all said on Saturday Russian airlines could not fly in their airspace. "Our European skies are open skies. They're open for those who connect people, not for those who seek to brutally aggress," Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo tweeted Sunday.
- "Iceland has decided to close its airspace to Russian air traffic, in solidarity with #Ukraine," Icelandic Foreign Minister Thordis Kolbrun Gylfadottir tweeted on Sunday.
- Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod tweeted Sunday that Denmark would also close its airspace to Russian aircraft and would throw its support behind bans by E.U. countries.
- "We invite all EU countries to do the same. There is no place for planes of the aggressor state in democratic skies. #StandWithUkraine," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tweeted Saturday.
- "Lithuania in coordination with Latvia and Estonia closes its airspace to Russian air carriers starting from midnight, February 27," Lithuanian Transport and Communications Minister Marius Skuodis said.
- "Romania banned its airspace for [Russian] airlines. Unprovoked & unjustified [Russia] attack on Ukraine brings serious consequences," the Romanian delegation to NATO tweeted.
- Latvia coordinated with Lithuania and Estonia to decide to close their airspace to Russian aircrafts, according to the Cabinet of Ministers.
What to watch: Finland's Minister of Transport and Communications Timo Harakka tweeted late Saturday that Finland is also preparing to close its airspace to Russia aircrafts. Sweden is preparing a similar measure, per Reuters.
The big picture: Poland on Friday banned Russian airlines from its airspace, according to Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
- The United Kingdom, Moldova and the Czech Republic closed their airspace to Russian airlines earlier this week.
- Delta Air Lines on Friday also cut its ties with Russian carrier Aeroflot effective immediately, CNBC reports.
Go deeper: The latest on the Russia-Ukraine crisis
Editor's note: This post has been updated with additional countries who say they will ban Russian airlines from their airspace.
