Moscow (CNN) — The closure of Europe’s skies to Russia’s airplanes has created actual issues for vacationers attempting to fly each to and from the nation because it continues its invasion of Ukraine.
That is led to a scramble for the final planes out and in. For some passengers it was a race in opposition to time — as successive airways canceled flights to adjust to airspace restrictions or the logistical issues created by newly imposed sanctions.
Making an attempt to achieve CNN’s Moscow bureau from London on Sunday, I skilled among the challenges different passengers should’ve confronted, attempting to slide throughout borders as they slammed shut.
I used to be initially booked to fly early within the day from London’s Heathrow on a Lufthansa flight through Frankfurt. All seemed OK earlier within the day, though the UK and Russia had already severed direct air hyperlinks.
Extra airspace closures adopted within the subsequent hours, however Lufthansa remained on monitor, proper up till 11 p.m. — simply eight hours earlier than check-in — after I found my flight was canceled as Lufthansa pulled the plug on all its Russia-bound routes.
The following few hours had been a frantic seek for an alternate flight that wasn’t at risk of being grounded.
One potential plan might need been to fly through Casablanca on Air Maroc, however regardless of the prospect of a quick journey south out of the chilly European winter, it was shortly dismissed as an possibility. The danger of being stranded in Morocco if the second leg of the journey was scrapped for comparable causes was too nice. It could even have taken too lengthy.
As an alternative, flying on Greece’s Aegean Airways and transiting at Athens appeared like the perfect answer, though my flight was as a consequence of arrive at 4 a.m. on Monday — a punishing time forward of what was more likely to be a busy work schedule.
As I drove to Heathrow on Sunday, and extra airways pulled the plug on flights to Moscow, I started to really feel extra pessimistic about my possibilities of reaching Moscow.
Mid-air turnarounds
It was fairly potential that whereas I used to be within the air on the primary leg of my journey, Greece or the broader European Union would possibly impose sanctions, probably forcing the airline to droop flights to Russia.
If that occurred, I could possibly be caught in Athens and compelled to rearrange a irritating flight again dwelling.
On Saturday, Air France subsidiary KLM was pressured to show round two flights whereas they had been within the air to Moscow and St. Petersburg over fears that European sanctions would possibly imply the airline was unable to ship spare aviation components to Russia.
This might have meant the airliners being stranded in these cities in the event that they developed technical points.
There appeared no different then however to take the chance with out one other viable possibility to achieve Moscow shortly.
The primary leg of my journey was predictably uneventful. Because the airplane got here to a halt at Athens airport late on Sunday night, I looked for information of any new sanctions being introduced or extra airline cancellations as quickly as I may. To date, nothing.
I boarded the second airplane after a quick stopover within the Greek capital, with each stage of the often mundane takeoff process taking up additional significance given the heightened fears of flights being canceled or rotated. Doorways closing. Airplane taxiing. Liftoff! Absolutely nothing may go unsuitable now.
It did not — though whereas I used to be within the air, the EU introduced it might shut its airspace to Russian site visitors.
My airplane flew into snowy Moscow from the south, skirting Ukraine’s airspace that’s closed within the wake of the invasion, and landed safely.
The query now, within the wake of Monday’s closure of Russian airspace to 36 nations, is when and the way I am going to make the return journey.
Prime picture credit score: Peter Wilkinson/CNN
