The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has revised its Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB) board, warning against flying above particular locations in Russia due to a lack of coordination between civil and military aviation traffic.
Risks to Commercial Aviation in Russia
EASA announced on January 9 that it had amended the CZIB, adding Russia and its four flight information regions (FIR) to the list of potentially risky airspaces for civil aircraft operators.
The European Aviation Authority stated that the decision was made to ensure maximum flight safety during Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The new CZIB superseded and enlarged the scope of a previous CZIB issued following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which urged operators not to operate in Ukrainian airspace.
EASA warns airlines to avoid flying above Russia’s important cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as civil aircraft may be unintentionally targeted owing to poor coordination and misidentification.
“In particular, the activation of Russian air defence systems, capable of operating at all altitudes, in response to Ukrainian missile and drone launches, which have extended deep inside Russian territory, may have a direct impact on flight operations at several locations, including major international airports.”
The agency observed that the majority of events happened in airspace that Russia had not closed during drone attacks or the activation of air defense systems, creating a risk to flight operations. GPS spoofing and jamming present additional concerns, particularly in conflict zones.
“EASA recommends not to operate within the affected airspace of the Russian Federation located west of longitude 60° East at all altitudes and flight levels.”
Azerbaijan Airlines Flight Shot Down
EASA cited the shooting down of an Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190, registered as 4K-AZ65, on flight J28243 to Kadyrov Grozny International Airport (GRV) on December 25 as an example of potential risks.
The E190 crash, which killed 38 out of 67 passengers, happened shortly after Ukraine used drones to bomb Grozny, as reported by RBC-Ukraine. According to The New York Times, the Azerbaijan Airlines flight suffered GPS jamming as it neared Grozny and attempted to land at the airport. Survivors onboard confirmed this.
Zulfugar Asadov, a flight attendant on the flight, later sustained a cut on his arm after hearing a weird noise outside the plane. The plane diverted and then attempted to land at Aktau International Airport (SCO) in Kazakhstan, on the other side of the Caspian Sea.
The airplane crashed near Aktau after failing to land owing to damage caused by physical and technical interference, as stated by the airline.
While Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, who initiated the invasion of Ukraine under the guise of a’special military operation’ that has now lasted over three years, apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the country has refused to accept responsibility for the accident.
On January 9, Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s media representative, stated that stakeholders must conduct a “objective, impartial” probe to identify the reason of the tragedy, according to Russian news agency TASS.
According to the Azeri Press Agency (APA), Aliyev stated on January 6 that Azerbaijan will seek justice and punish those guilty for the deaths of its citizens in the disaster.
“If timely measures had been taken to close the Russian airspace near the city of Grozny, if all the rules of ground services had been observed, as well as proper coordination between the armed forces of the Russian Federation and civilian services, this tragedy would not have happened.”
Responding to MH17
The European Union (EU) Conflict Zone Alerting System was formed after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over Eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, in territory held by Russia-sponsored Donetsk People’s Republic.
“Active since early 2016, it facilitates cooperation among EU Member States, institutions, EASA, and aviation stakeholders to share intelligence on risks from conflict zones.”
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile while flying from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL), killing all 298 people on board.