Followed by Canada and EU, Joe Biden announces ban of Russian flights from American air space

            Following Russia’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, the United States issued a ban on Russian planes from American airspace on March 1, following similar actions by the European Union and Canada.

“I am announcing that we will join our partners in blocking off American airspace to all Russian planes, further isolating Russia and putting greater strain on their economy”, Biden stated in his State of the Union speech.

The orders issued by the United States Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration will go into effect at the end of the day on March 2 and will suspend operations of all aircraft owned, certified, operated, registered, chartered, leased, or controlled by, or for the benefit of, a Russian citizen.

According to the Transportation Department, this comprises both passenger and freight flights. United Airlines said late on March 1 that it has temporarily halted flights over Russian airspace, joining other major US airlines in doing so after Russian soldiers invaded Ukraine last week. Because of limitations on the use of Canadian and European airspace, Russian planes have been essentially blocked from most U.S. destinations in recent days.