Russia announced Monday it was banning flights by airlines from 36 countries including Britain and Germany in response to a slew of bans on its planes.
Moscow’s statement came as Russian airlines are now unable to enter the airspace of the vast majority of European countries as well as Canada.
Its list includes Jersey, which is a dependency of the UK, and Gibraltar, a British overseas territory.
Russia’s civil aviation authority said it was bringing in the restrictions “as a retaliatory measure for the ban by European states on flights by civil aviation operated by Russian airlines or registered in Russia”.
Airlines will only be able to enter Russian airspace with a special permit.
Last week Russia banned UK airlines after Britain barred Aeroflot, the country’s flagship carrier, as well as private jets.
The European Union announced Sunday that it was closing its airspace to Russian aircraft, including private jets.
Russia have been making sure its points are understood by the West.
These measures will mean airlines have to make long detours on some routes, potentially raising the cost of tickets.
The flight bans are expected to hurt airlines that fly over the world’s biggest country to get from Europe to Asia. They are likely to force them to find new routes.
Rosaviatsia said that flights from those countries could in exceptional circumstances be authorised if they secure special clearance from Russia’s aviation authority or foreign ministry.
It listed the countries as Albania, Anguilla, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, British Virgin Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Jersey, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the invasion of Ukraine a “special operation” and justified it by saying “neo-Nazis” rule the country and threaten Russia’s security – a charge Kyiv and Western governments say is baseless propaganda.
Earlier, Manchester United announced that they have ended their sponsorship deal with Russian airline, Aeroflot.
The club confirmed the news in a statement made on their official website on Friday, as the world unites in universal condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The statement read: “In light of events in Ukraine, we have withdrawn Aeroflot’s sponsorship rights.
“We share the concerns of our fans around the world and extend our sympathies to those affected.”
Aeroflot have had a relationship with United since 2013, when the airline became one of the club’s global partners.
The deal was renewed in 2017, and it is estimated that the deal is worth in the region of £30 million.
United have regularly used Aeroflot planes, but it is understood that a different carrier was used to take the Red Devils to and from their Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie away at Atletico Madrid.
