Is it safe to fly over Russia?

15, 2022. United Airlines Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby said flying over Russia constitutes a risk that many carriers including his own won't take, while airlines from China or India enjoy a competitive advantage as they continue to traverse the airspace.



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While Kirby made a comment out of the goodness of his heart and having fear for the American citizen, he had no such words for his new best friends at Emirates, who have also been using Russian airspace and operating all their west coast flights via Russian Airspace.

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Emirates, Qatar Airways, Air India and Turkish Airlines, Ethiopian Cargo, and most Chinese carriers have continued to fly over and to Russia.

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The planes of European airlines, like KLM and Air France, are therefore not allowed to fly over Russia.

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Emirates, Dubai to Stockholm
What had been taking the airline 6-6.5 hours over Russia now takes 6.5-7 hours to avoid it. Given the need to avoid Ukraine too, Emirates' flights make a curve above Turkey, then loop through Romania and Poland en route to Stockholm.

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Dubai-owned Emirates is one of few major airlines to continue its direct flight service to Russia as other carriers cease operations over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Still, the United Arab Emirates has been reluctant to take sides in the ongoing war, and has so far resisted sanctioning Moscow.

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Are aircraft registered in Russia or operated by Russian operators allowed to fly into the EU? No, except in case of some limited exceptions.

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A citizen of a foreign country who seeks to enter the United States generally must first obtain a U.S. visa, which is placed in the traveler's passport, a travel document issued by the traveler's country of citizenship.

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Four airlines continue to fly to Russia from the Gulf State – flydubai, Emirates, Etihad and Air Arabia. Although flydubai offers the most, Emirates still serves the country with 84 flights per month, while Air Arabia and Etihad both fly around 30.

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United, British Airways, and Finnair are all avoiding the area. Russia's airspace is closed to many global airlines, forcing carriers to detour around the nation. Routes to and from Asia are up to four hours longer.

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But for now, Russian airlines have been kept alive with the help of international shipments and the use of hundreds of foreign jets that were stranded there after the war began. Tens of thousands of flights are expected to crisscross Russia this month, according to schedules published by Cirium.

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The US prohibits flights across all North Korean airspace, including the oceanic part of the ZKKP/Pyongyang FIR over the Sea of Japan. Several other countries have airspace warnings in place which advise caution due to the risk posed by unannounced rocket launches.

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