Canada closes airspace to Russian aircraft operators [View all]

Canada is closing its airspace to Russian aircraft operators effective immediately, says Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.

Alghabra announced the move in a tweet posted Sunday morning. The decision aligns Canadian policy with many European nations who announced similar decisions over the past several days.

Russian-owned aircraft are banned from airspace above Germany, the U.K., Italy, the Baltic states and others. Those policies leave much of European airspace closed to Russian planes.

Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot operates multiple flights per day through Canadian airspace en route to the U.S. and beyond.

The decision will add hours to some flights and make others "impossible," said aerospace consultant Ross Aimer.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-closes-airspace-russian-planes-1.6366268