Aircraft, Aviation | Norway closes airspace for Russian aircraft
Norway will close the airspace to Russian aircraft at the same time as the rest of the Nordic region.
This is confirmed by Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party).
– We have consulted with our Nordic neighbors and will close the airspace for Russian flights at the same time as they do, Huitfeldt says in a written comment to NTB.
Gets landing ban
A large majority of EU member states have now announced that they will close the airspace to Russian aircraft – including our Nordic neighbors Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
An EU official, who spoke anonymously about the case, states that the case will probably be raised at EU level during the day on Sunday. It is expected that a proposal will then be submitted to introduce a landing ban for EU aircraft in Russia and a ban on overflights for Russian aircraft in EU airspace.
As far as NTB is aware, Norway is planning to join such a joint closure of the airspace for Russian aircraft.
Denmark and Sweden
In Denmark, Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Sunday that there were still some legal details that needed to be put in place. But he expected that Russian planes would be banned from Danish airspace on Sunday.
Russian private jets are also covered by the Danish ban.
Sweden is preparing to do the same, EU Minister Hans Dahlgren told Swedish Radio. Iceland has also decided to close the airspace to Russian aircraft, according to the country’s government.
Germany states that the country closes the airspace from 15 o’clock on Sunday.
Equivalent to the same coin
In the past, Finland, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the Baltic countries and Poland have also said they will close the airspace to Russian air traffic.
The Russian government has responded with the same coin. Russian authorities say on Saturday that they are closing the airspace to planes from Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania.
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod acknowledges that it will be “a little more difficult” to fly around the world when Russian planes are excluded from Danish airspace.