Aeroflot has suspended all its flights to the US, Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic in response to Ottawa’s decision to close its airspace to planes coming from Russia as a result of Moscow’s military action in Ukraine.
The aviation giant announced the move in a statement on Monday as several states impose restrictions on Russian jets.
“Due to the closure of Canadian airspace, Aeroflot's transatlantic flights from Moscow and back have been canceled from February 28 to March 2, 2022,” the company revealed in a notice published on its website.
The airline advised its passengers to check for any updates and confirmed that they will be able to receive a refund for their tickets.
Russian airlines have had to cancel a number of their flights to Europe until further notice due to EU member states closing their skies to planes flying from the nation. The restriction came as a part of the sanctions package imposed on Moscow by Washington and Brussels following what they called “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” In retaliation, the Kremlin banned all EU jets from entering its airspace.
Last Thursday, as Moscow launched its military operation against Ukraine, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency suspended all journeys to and from 12 airports in the south of the country.
In a televised address to the nation earlier the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow will seek “to protect the people [of Donbass] who have been tortured for eight years by the Ukrainian regime.” He also called for the complete “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine and vowed to hold those who he deemed were involved in “numerous bloody crimes against civilians” accountable. The move came after the leaders of the Donetsk (DPR) and Lugansk (DPR) People’s Republics appealed for help in countering what they called “Ukrainian military aggression.”