Growing list of EU countries announce closing of skies to Russian flights, as Moscow increasingly isolated

Belgium is closing its airspace to Russian flights, the country’s prime minister says, adding to a growing number of EU countries that have done the same.

Neighboring Luxembourg — a tiny EU country but a major hub for cargo flights — says it was about to take the same step, taking effect later today.

The measures, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, follow similar bans by other EU countries including Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Finland and Denmark.

Russia has responded by closing its own airspace to flights operated by carriers from EU Baltic countries.

No EU-wide ban on Russian flights has been announced, and EU countries are deciding themselves for their sovereign airspace.

France’s transportation minister, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, calls for “rapid European coordination on this issue” and told AFP his country was considering “the principle” of doing the same.