Moscow (DailyExpertNews) — The closure of European airspace to Russian planes has created real problems for travelers trying to fly both to and from the country as it continues its invasion of Ukraine.
That has led to a fight over the last planes to board and disembark. For some passengers, it was a race against time as successive airlines canceled flights to comply with airspace restrictions or the logistical problems caused by newly imposed sanctions.
When I tried to reach the DailyExpertNews desk in Moscow from London on Sunday, I experienced some of the challenges other passengers must have faced as they tried to slip across the border as they slammed shut.
I was originally booked to fly early in the day from Heathrow in London on a Lufthansa flight via Frankfurt. Everything looked good earlier in the day, even though the UK and Russia had already cut direct air links.
More airspace closures followed in the hours that followed, but Lufthansa stayed on course until 11 p.m. — just eight hours before check-in — when I learned my flight had been canceled when Lufthansa pulled the plug on all routes to Russia.
The next few hours were a frantic search for an alternative flight that was not in danger of being grounded.
A possible plan would have been to fly with Air Maroc via Casablanca, but despite the prospect of a short trip south from the cold European winter, it was quickly dismissed as an option. The risk of stranding in Morocco if the second part of the journey were canceled for similar reasons was too great. It would also take too long.
Instead, flying with Greece’s Aegean Airways and transferring to Athens seemed the best solution, although my flight was due to arrive at 4am on Monday – a punishment for what was likely to be a hectic work schedule.
As I drove to Heathrow on Sunday and more airlines pulled the plug on flights to Moscow, I began to feel more pessimistic about my chances of reaching Moscow.
Flips in the air
It was entirely possible that, while I was in the air for the first leg of my journey, Greece or the wider European Union would impose sanctions, possibly forcing the airline to suspend flights to Russia.
If that happened, I could be stuck in Athens and having to arrange a frustrating flight back home.
Air France subsidiary KLM was forced to turn around two flights on Saturday while they were in the air to Moscow and St. Petersburg amid fears that European sanctions could mean that the airline cannot send aviation spare parts to Russia.
This could have meant the planes were stranded in those cities if they had technical problems.
There seemed then no choice but to take the risk without another viable option to reach Moscow quickly.
The first leg of my journey was predictably dull. When the plane came to a stop at Athens airport late Sunday night, I quickly searched for news of new sanctions or more airline cancellations. So far nothing.
I boarded the second plane after a brief layover in the Greek capital, with each stage of the usually mundane take-off procedure becoming extra important given heightened fears that flights would be canceled or turned around. Close doors. Airplane taxiing. To take off! Surely nothing can go wrong now.
It didn’t — even though the EU announced while I was in the air that it would close its airspace to Russian traffic.
My plane flew into snowy Moscow from the south, passing the airspace of Ukraine that had been closed after the invasion, and landed safely.
The question now is, in the wake of the closure of Russian airspace on Monday for 36 countries, when and how I will make the return journey.
Top image credit: Peter Wilkinson/DailyExpertNews
