Airlines scrambled to adapt to conflict in Europe on Thursday as Ukraine closed its airspace, fuel prices soared and carriers were urged to "exercise caution" deep inside Russia hours after Moscow's military invaded Ukraine.
Moldova, southwest of Ukraine, also halted flights, while Belarus to the north said civilian flights could no longer fly over part of its territory after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised the dawn operation.The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said Ukraine's skies and airspace in Russia and Belarus within 100 nautical miles of borders with Ukraine could pose risks.
"In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft," the agency said.
"The presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a high risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels."
It later issued an update on a broader area of Russian airspace, advising airlines to "exercise caution" when flying in air traffic regions controlled from Moscow or Rostov-on-Don.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration expanded an area in or near Ukraine where U.S. airlines cannot operate.
The aviation industry has taken heightened notice of the risks conflicts pose to civil aviation since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014.
EASA said Russia's defence ministry had sent Ukraine an urgent message warning of a high risk to flight safety due to the use of weapons and military equipment, and asked Ukraine's air traffic control to stop flights.
Websites, which before the escalation had shown multiple intelligence-gathering flights over or near Ukraine as the West showcased support by transmitting detectable signals in recent weeks, showed empty space as civil flights halted and analysts said any military flights went dark.
Airlines skirted the whole country in crowded corridors to the north and west, leaving a hole in the aviation map.
An El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Toronto made a U-turn out of Ukraine's airspace around the time of its closure, the tracking website FlightRadar24 showed.
A LOT Polish Airlines flight from Warsaw to Kyiv turned back, as did Kyiv-bound flights operated by Air India and Aegean Airlines
Source: Reuters