Russian private planes banned from flying over UK airspace

The UK Department of Transport has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions and banned Russian private planes from flying to Great Britain, Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps said on Friday.

“I’ve strengthened our ban in the UK so that no Russian private jet can fly in UK airspace, or touchdown – effective immediately,” he wrote on his Twitter account.

On Thursday, the Civil Aviation Authority of the United Kingdom suspended the foreign carrier permit held by Aeroflot Russia Airlines until further notice. Russia’s Air Transport Agency said that this step violated the intergovernmental agreement on air service between Russia and the United Kingdom and invited London to consultations on this matter, but the British side turned this proposal down. As a result, Russia closed its airspace for all British flights, including transit ones.