EU and UK Escalate Aviation Sanctions on Russian Airlines, Airports
On the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Council of the European Union implemented its 16th package of sanctions, further tightening restrictions against the Russian aviation sector and imposing new bans on certain airports. Concurrently, the United Kingdom expanded its sanctions list to include additional entities and individuals.
As part of the new measures adopted on February 24, 2024, the EU has expanded its flight ban to include any airline operating domestic flights within Russia, prohibiting them from flying to, from, or over EU territories. Previously, this restriction was only applied to Russian air carriers. This change comes as Russia shows openness to allowing foreign airlines into its domestic market to mitigate the impact of sanctions on its aircraft availability.
Additionally, the EU’s amended Council decision 2014/512/CFSP now targets international companies supplying aircraft or other sanctioned items to these domestic operators in Russia.
Council Regulation (EU) 2025/395 specifically designates six airports—Moscow Vnukovo, Zhukovsky, Perm Bolshoye Savino, Ekaterinburg, Nizhnekamsk, and Pskov—as significant military bases and logistics hubs for military transfers, barring EU-based firms from transacting with these airport operators.
Furthermore, the EU has sanctioned Vadim Badekha, CEO of UAC United Aircraft Corporation, marking the first time the head of Russia’s state-owned aircraft manufacturer has faced such measures.
In a similar vein, the UK government has added S7 Airlines and its founder Vladislav Filev to its sanctions list, extending the reach of its punitive measures beyond Ukraine. This follows previous designations by the EU and the US’s Office of Foreign Affairs Control (OFAC), which had targeted S7’s maintenance subsidiary, S7 Technics. Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand have also implemented sanctions, although their measures have not specifically targeted the aviation sector.
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Sources: AirGuide Business airguide.info, bing.com, ch-aviation.com