EU sanctions third party airlines carrying out domestic flights in Russia
February 25, 2025
On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU Council has adopted its 16th package of economic and individual sanctions; including imposing a ban on third-country airlines carrying out domestic flights within Russia or supplying aviation goods to Russian airlines.
“In order to ensure the effectiveness of EU restrictive measures targeting the aviation sector, the Council decided to widen the EU flight ban to listed air carriers operating domestic flights within Russia,” explained the Council of the European Union. This also covers those “exporting aircraft or other aviation goods and technology to Russian air carriers and their controlled entities”.
Russian carriers (including those engaged in code-sharing arrangements), Russian-registered aircraft, or non-Russian registered aircraft owned or chartered by a Russian person or entity are already currently prohibited from flying over EU territory. (Flights deemed necessary for approved humanitarian purposes remain exempt.)
However, amid shortages of aircraft and spare parts, domestic airlines are increasingly looking for options to keep their fleets in the air – with Moscow having allegedly been in talks with some central Asian countries to run domestic flights in Russia. The widened EU ban would curtain that plan, with any potential carriers looking to operate in Russia now unable to operate across Europe too.
