Cyprus closes airspace for aircraft from Russia

Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the department of civil aviation of Cyprus on Monday announced that it is closing its airspace for all types of aircraft owned or operated by Russia.

"All aircraft owned, chartered, operated or otherwise controlled by citizens of the Russian Federation and all operators that have Russian certificates are now prohibited from entering, exiting or flying through the Cyprus airspace," the civil aviation authority said in a statement.

The authority also clarified that exceptions will be made for emergency landings, humanitarian flights and search-and-rescue operations.

The development comes after several European countries, including Italy, Poland, France among others, closed their respective airspaces for aircraft flying from Russia following the announcement of President Vladimir Putin to launch special military operations in Ukraine on Friday.

European Union (EU) foreign ministers agreed on Sunday to close the European airspace to all Russian aircraft. Following these new restrictive measures, Aeroflot (Russian Airlines) said it was suspending flights via all European routes starting February 28.

( With inputs from ANI )

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