Airlines modify flights to limit exposure to Ukrainian airspace.
Airlines are altering their schedules to limit their exposure to Ukrainian airspace, although they continue to fly in and out of the country as their standoff with Russian troops massed on the border intensifies.
Ryanair Holdings, Europe’s largest low-cost airline, has reduced the number of flights with Ukraine, according to a spokeswoman.
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“The safety of our passengers and crew is our number one priority and we will continue to monitor our schedules and adjust them accordingly,” the Irish airline said in an e-mailed statement Thursday.
Deutsche Lufthansa AG and its Swiss and Austrian units have switched some flights to Kiev from afternoons to mornings for safety reasons to prevent crews from spending the night in the Ukrainian capital, a spokesman said. Dutch airline KLM also reported that its crews are not staying overnight, Bloomberg reported.
Flight MH17
Airlines have generally avoided flying over Ukraine since a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet was shot down over separatist-controlled territory in the eastern part of the country in 2014. Commercial flights remain banned over eastern Ukraine and Crimea.
International investigators concluded that flight MH17, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile. President Vladimir Putin rejected accusations that Russia was behind the action.
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Diplomats are working to defuse the latest crisis, which has seen the buildup of more than 100,000 Russian troops on Ukraine’s border. On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden repeated warnings that Russia could invade Ukraine next month. Russia has denied it has plans to invade.
On Jan. 19, Canadian air operators were advised not to fly over southern and eastern Ukraine “due to the potential risk posed by increased military activity and dedicated anti-aircraft weaponry in eastern Ukraine.”
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