This will likely cause great disruption to commerical aviaiton in Ukraine, closing most air routes into and out of the country.
Aircraft traveling through Ukrainian airspace will no longer be insured by international insurance companies from Feb. 14, forcing flights to be grounded or canceled, according to Ukrainian publication Ukrainska Pravda.
Anatoliy Ivantsiv, head of Ukrainian insurance firm Expo, told Interfax that British reinsurance giant Lloyds announced it would temporarily cease all conflict risk insurance over Ukrainian airspace from Feb. 14.
Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry announced on Feb. 13 that it would provide “additional financial guarantees” to carriers to ensure the continuation of international routes.
The Ukrainian government still insists that it sees no reason to close Ukrainian airspace to commercial traffic.
However, on Feb. 13, the Ukrainian State Air Traffic Services Enterprise warned airlines against flying over the Black Sea.
The state company labelled the area as “potentially dangerous” and advises aircraft not to fly over the sea’s open waters on Feb. 14-19. »