Canada shuts its airspace to Russian operators

An airplane takes off from Billy Bishop Airport

Canada has closed its airspace to Russian aircraft operators effective immediately due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Canada's minister of transportation said on Sunday, joining other countries in announcing similar measures in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine," transport minister Omar Alghabra wrote in a Twitter post.

There are no direct flights between Russia and Canada, but several Russian flights a day pass through Canadian airspace to other countries, a spokesperson for Alghabra said.

Britain has banned Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot from entering British airspace. Poland and Czech Republic also said they were banning Russian airlines from their airspace, while airlines including IAG-owned (ICAG.L) British Airways and Virgin Atlantic began routing flights around Russian airspace.

Canada has imposed severe sanctions on Russia, targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in tandem with the United States. Canada was also part of a Western alliance that blocked "selected" Russian banks from the SWIFT payments system on Saturday.

Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by Will Dunham

REUTERS