You're reading: Number of transit flights by Russian airlines across Ukraine exceeds 30,000 in January – September 2015

The number of transit flights by Russian airlines across Ukraine's airspace totaled 30,426 in January-September 2015, the Infrastructure Ministry told Interfax-Ukraine on Nov. 25.

The ministry said that in 2014, the number of transit flights by Russian airlines reached 56,202.

As reported, due to the worsening of the military and political situation, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to ban transit flights of Russian airlines across Ukrainian airspace from November 26.

The Infrastructure Ministry said that the decision was made as Russian airlines systemically violate the rules and procedures of using Ukrainian airspace. The ban is aimed at preventing any possible provocations in the country’s airspace.

“Ukraine has full and exclusionary sovereignty over its airspace, being part of its territory. By flying to Crimea, Russian airlines violate the agreement signed by the Ukrainian and Russian government on air communications and cooperation in the air transportation area in 1994, the Convention on International Civil Aviation of 1944 and the International Air Services Transit Agreement of 1944 in part of observation of national laws and rules,” the ministry said, adding that Russia stopped issuing transit flight permits to Ukrainian airlines in August 2014.

Federal Air Transport Agency of the Russian Federation (Rosaviatsia) said that Ukraine’s ban on transit flights is irrelevant to Russian civil aviation.

“After the airplane crash near for safety reasons,” the Russian agency said.

Air market expert and director of Style-Avia (Kyiv) Yevhen Khainatsky said that Ukraine will not suffer from tangible losses from the introduction of a ban on transit flights of Russian airlines across its airspace.

“This step should have been taken in summer 2014 when Russia imposed the similar sanctions for Ukrainian airlines. This is the absolutely right decision. The state would not suffer from this ban, as most Russian airlines do not enter the Ukrainian airspace now,” he told Interfax-Ukraine.

The expert said that the new sanctions put the two sides of the conflict on equal footing. After the sanctions are imposed, they could be lifted on a parity basis.

“When international relations with Russia are resumed, the process will be progressive. First the two sides lift the restrictions on transit flights, then lifting the restrictions and opening of regular flights for some airlines and then the full lifting of all restrictions,” he said.