Russia-Ukraine crisis: Here's how travel is being impacted by the invasion
India Today
With Russia invading Ukraine, and consequent sanctions imposed by the west and closed airspace, here's how travel will be impacted.
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.
The US government expanded the area in eastern Europe and Russia where airlines and American pilots cannot operate following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The US agency issued expanded notices barring operations that now cover all of Ukraine, Belarus and a western portion of Russia. Prior to the new restrictions, the FAA prohibited operations in an eastern region of Ukraine. The restrictions do not apply to military operations.
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Commercial airlines such as Lufthansa and Air France had already suspended flights to Ukraine earlier this week as tensions escalated.
Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom have advised their citizens to leave Ukraine. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency also issued a high-risk alert for civilian aircraft flying near the Ukrainian border.
Even as air traffic is moving outside the severely affected area, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said "operators should exercise extreme caution" and avoid using the airspace within 100 nautical miles of the Russia-Ukraine border, CNN reported.
"In particular, there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft," the agency said.
