Several Russian air transport companies including Ural Airlines and the airports operator Novaport have been newly included in a revised European Union list of sanctioned enterprises.
The European Commission unveiled an updated package of restrictive measures – imposed over the Ukrainian conflict – on 24 June.
Ural Airlines, which is based in Ekaterinburg, is accused of “supporting materially” the conflict by transporting military personnel during mobilization.
The Commission adds that Ural Airlines established a “special ticket-selling scheme” with the Russian ministry of defence.
Novaport operates, or has interests in, over 20 Russian airports, among them facilities in Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Volgograd, Perm and Kaliningrad.
But the Commission states that some of the airports are in shared use with the Russian air force, while others support commercial flights to the Crimean city of Simferopol – a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia.
Outsize freight specialist Volga-Dnepr Group, and several of its senior figures and shareholders, has been included on the sanctions list.
The Commission claims the company has been “playing a crucial role” in serving the Russian military-industrial complex through provision of air transport services.
Volga-Dnepr Group has a fleet of Antonov An-124s, Ilyushin Il-76s and Boeing 747-8Fs operated by its airline division – a company which has itself been sanctioned for its strategic significance, as it imports electronics and communications equipment from third countries.
The Commission has similarly sanctioned a number of aviation engineering firms.
Its revised package features two provisions intended to prevent Russian nationals from circumventing flight bans – a ban on non-scheduled services decided by Russian citizens, and an obligation to provide information on non-scheduled flights.
This ban applies to Russian airlines, aircraft owned or controlled by Russian persons or companies, and any aircraft where a Russian person or company decides the flight’s origin or destination, the Commission states.
