Third-country carriers conducting domestic flights in Russia could be banned from operating in the European Union, under a newly-adopted sanctions package.
The package, adopted by the European Council, is aimed at economic sectors including transport, energy, trade and infrastructure.
It extends a flight ban to enable listing of any third-country carriers performing domestic flights within Russia, or supplying aircraft or aviation goods to Russian airlines, including those used for domestic flights.
“If listed, these airlines will not be allowed to fly to the EU,” states the European Commission, without identifying any individual operator.
“This measure is aimed at targeting those operators that help Russia mitigate the impact of EU aviation sanctions.”
It clarifies that there are “no consequences” for third-country airlines which simply fly through Russian airspace.
As part of the package the European Council has adopted a “full transaction ban” on certain infrastructure facilities including Moscow Vnukovo and Moscow Zhukovsky airports, plus four regional airports.
The regional airports comprise Perm, Ekaterinburg Koltsovo, Pskov and Begishevo.
According to the EU legislation, these facilities are subject to the transaction ban because they are used for transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles or missiles, or goods and technology, that support the Russian military campaign against Ukraine.
