UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced tonight that he has strengthened the previous flight ban on UK airspace, that previously included Russian flag carrier airline, Aeroflot, to now include any Russian private jet.
“Putin’s actions are unlawful and anyone benefiting from Russia’s aggression in Ukraine is not welcome here,” Transport Secretary said on Friday evening.
The ban is effective immediately, meaning all Russian private flights cannot enter UK airspace or touch down there.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) had already suspended Russian Aeroflot’s foreign carrier permit “until further notice” in response to Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine, the UN, NATO, the US, the EU and the rest of the civilized world all denounced Russian onslaught in Ukraine as an unprovoked aggression.
The UK had previously announced a ban on Aeroflot as part of a series of economic sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday the sanctions were meant to “hobble” the Russian economy, and on Friday, he pushed NATO allies to take their own sanctions further, advocating for banning Russia from the SWIFT payment system, which connects financial institutions around the world.
Johnson also announced that Putin and his foreign minister will be personally sanctioned “imminently.”
Russia responded to the original UK ban by announcing that all UK-registered flights were banned from their airspace. Aeroflot also announced on Friday that all of its flights to London and the Irish capital city of Dublin had been axed.