war in Ukraine
Wissing wants to close airspace for Russian aircraft
Lufthansa is initially suspending all flights to or via Russia for seven days. Photo: Silas Stein/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The Federal Transport Minister wants to close German airspace for Russian aircraft. Airlines like Lufthansa or KLM avoid Russia.
In the conflict with Russia, the federal government is preparing to block German airspace for Russian aircraft. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing supports this and has ordered everything to be prepared for it, his ministry announced on Saturday evening.
An EU diplomat told the German Press Agency: “It is very likely that the other EU countries will also close their airspace.”
Lufthansa announced that it would initially no longer fly to or via Russia. This is due to “the current and emerging regulatory situation” and applies for seven days. Connections to Russia are therefore suspended. “Flights that are in Russian airspace will leave it again shortly,” the statement said. Lufthansa is monitoring the situation closely and is in close contact with national and international authorities. “The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority at all times.”
According to its own statements, the Dutch airline KLM also wants to cancel all its Russia flights for seven days and avoid Russian airspace. The background to this decision was the sanctions agreed by the EU states, according to which no spare parts for aircraft may be delivered to Russia. KLM can no longer guarantee that flights to Russia or via Russian territory can return safely, the company said.
Turned off several machines
According to data from the “Flightradar24” tracking website, a Lufthansa Airbus A340 turned around on its way from Frankfurt to Tokyo via Estonia, while a company Airbus A350 from Munich to Seoul via Russia changed course and flew west again.
The Tokyo flight was listed as “diverted” on the Lufthansa website and landed back in Frankfurt around 10 p.m. The machine, which was on its way to Seoul, was supposed to land in Munich shortly before midnight. According to “Flightradar24”, a Boeing 777 from the German freight company Aerologic also turned back via Russia, which was supposed to fly from Leipzig to Tokyo.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, several EU countries have already closed their airspace to Russian aircraft. The Federal Republic has not been among them so far. Since the end of the Cold War, machines from Germany to Asia have often taken routes that lead through Russian airspace.