Ukraine Warns Airlines As Drone Strikes Threaten Russian Airspace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russian airspace is becoming “completely unsafe” and is “effectively closing” because of drone strikes, as Ukraine’s response to increasing Russian attacks extends beyond Ukrainian territory.

In a Sept. 1 statement, Zelenskyy said, “Today, we want to warn every airline that uses Russian airspace, every insurer, and everyone who still uses Russia’s key airports: Russian airspace is becoming completely unsafe.”

Although Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not threatening civilian aviation as such, he stated, “There will simply be drones in Russia’s skies on a scale that has to be taken into account.”

“Although the Russian authorities are not properly informing people about this, Russian airspace will effectively be closing—the war started by Russia is closing its skies,” the Ukrainian president said. “We in Ukraine do not want innocent lives to be lost. That is why we are warning our partners: the safe days in Russia’s skies are over ... Drone-infested skies are no place for civilian aviation.”

The escalating situation could affect airlines that still operate flights to and from Russia, as well as lessors whose aircraft are leased to airlines operating in Russian airspace and insurers.

Airlines’ response to the statement has varied. While Emirates’ flight operations remained unaffected, Pegasus Airlines said it had canceled some flights. “Following the assessment of our daily operations across our entire flight network that is done on a daily basis, our flights to Russia scheduled overnight [Sept. 1-2] were canceled due to technical and operational reasons,” the Turkish carrier said.

Pegaus said that, apart from those cancellations, flights from Sept. 2 onward were operating as scheduled. Additional flights were also being planned for passengers affected by the cancellations.

Qatar Airways said the safety of its passengers and crew is its highest priority. “Our flight planning and operational decisions are guided by rigorous and continuous monitoring of airspace security, safety assessments, and geopolitical developments, in close coordination with the relevant authorities,” a spokesperson for the Gulf airline said. “We continuously assess all available information and will adapt our operations as necessary. Any significant updates will be communicated through Qatar Airways’ official channels.”

Lessor SMBC declined to comment, while AerCap did not respond to a request from Aviation Week.