Belgium will close its airspace to Russian planes, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said on Twitter on Sunday. “Our European skies are open skies. They’re open for those who connect people, not for those who seek to brutally aggress,” he said.
Belgium has decided to close its airspace to all Russian airlines.
Our European skies are open skies. They're open for those who connect people, not for those who seek to brutally aggress.
— Alexander De Croo ???? (@alexanderdecroo) February 27, 2022
Federal Mobility Minister Georges Gilkinet wrote on Twitter that Europe “must isolate Russia economically, financially, but also in the air. We are coordinating with our European colleagues on the subject“.
En réponse à l'agression contre l'Ukraine, l'Europe doit isoler économiquement la Russie, au niveau financier, mais aussi dans les airs. J'ai demandé la fermeture de l'espace aérien belge aux avions russes. Et nous nous coordonnons avec nos collègues européens sur le sujet.
— Gilki (@GeorgesGilkinet) February 27, 2022
The United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Romania, Estonia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Germany had previously announced that they would close their airspaces to Russian planes. Ireland took a similar decision minutes ago. Russian air traffic, therefore, finds itself faced with a very large no-fly zone in Europe, forcing flights to the west into enormous detours.
