Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

In tit-for-tat move, Germany blocks Russian airlines

German officials say Germany has denied Russian airlines permission to use its airspace after Moscow failed to approve a Lufthansa flight to Russia

Via AP news wire
Wednesday 02 June 2021 20:00 BST
Germany Russia Flights
Germany Russia Flights (AP)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Germany has denied Russian airlines permission to use its airspace after Moscow failed to approve a Lufthansa flight to Russia, German officials said Wednesday.

In a statement, Germany’s Transport Ministry said the decision was based on the practice of reciprocal approval of flights, and affected connections operated by Aeroflot and budget carrier S7.

The tit-for-tat decision comes amid mounting tension between Russia and the European Union over Moscow’s support for Belarus.

The 27-nation bloc and the United States last week introduced fresh sanctions against Belarus after authorities there diverted an international flight to arrest a dissident journalist. The sanctions come on top of those already imposed on Belarusian officials, including its authoritarian leader, President Alexander Lukashenko for rigging elections and clamping down on protests last year.

The German Transport Ministry said that Russia “unilaterally” suspended bilateral agreements on airline traffic between the two countries in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Flights since then have been approved reciprocally on a monthly basis, it said.

“For Lufthansa flights, timely approval was not received from the Russian licensing authority FATA for the month of June, so Lufthansa flights that were scheduled to take place in the early morning of June 2 had to be canceled in the evening hours on June 1,” the ministry said.

“Due to the underlying reciprocal practice, the German Federal Aviation Authority also did not issue any further permits for flights of the Russian carriers as long as the permits were pending on the Russian side,” it said.

The ministry said it and the German embassy in Moscow were in close exchange with Russian aviation authorities.

“As soon as the FATA approvals for Lufthansa flights are granted by the Russian side, the flights of Russian companies will also be approved,” the ministry said.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in