EU closes airspace to Russian flights and aircraft

All 27 EU member states will participate in the ban, which prohibits all Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft from landing in, taking off from or flying over any EU nation.

It comes after the UK shut its airspace to Russian aircraft following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Following the move, Russia retaliated by closing its airspace to European nations, including the UK, Bulgaria, Poland and Czech Republic.

According to the BBC, Russia’s S7 Airlines said on Facebook it would cancel flights to many of its European destinations until at least 13 March.

Announcing a package of sanctions against Russia on Sunday (27 February), European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said: "We are shutting down the EU airspace for Russians. We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft."