UK criminalizes Russian planes' entering airspace, landing

By Muhammad Mussa

LONDON (AA) - Any Russian airplanes entering UK airspace and attempting to land on UK soil can be detained as of Wednesday, the British government has announced amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

The new package of aviation sanctions will include making it a criminal offense for Russian planes to fly over and land in the UK.

"Banning Russian flagged planes from the UK and making it a criminal offence to fly them will inflict more economic pain on Russia and those close to the Kremlin,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement.

"We will continue to support Ukraine diplomatically, economically and defensively in the face of Putin’s illegal invasion, and work to isolate Russia on the international stage,” she added.

The sanctioning of Russian aircraft in the UK will include any airlines owned, operated, or chartered by the Kremlin as well as by those organizations and individuals connected to the Russian government.

The new action will allow the government to remove aircraft belonging to designated Russian entities and individuals from the UK’s official aircraft register that records the number of airlines in operation in the UK.

“Putin must fail and so we were one of the first countries to ban Russian aircraft and today we are going even further by making it a criminal offence for Russian aircraft to operate in UK airspace,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.

“We will always work to deny Putin and his cronies the right to continue as normal while innocent Ukrainians suffer,” he added.

New trade measures will also prevent exports of aviation materials and space-related technology from the UK to Russia, and companies previously involved in this trade will no longer be covered or protected by insurance claims, according to the government.

The new aviation sanctions follow the banning of Russian aircraft from flying in UK airspace.