A ban of Russian aircraft from U.S. airspace has gone into effect

A ban of Russian aircraft from U.S. airspace has gone into effect

Transcript¹

As of 9 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday, Russian aircraft are prohibited from entering U.S. airspace.

President Biden announced he was ordering that in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, joining the European Union and Canada in banning Russian planes, part of a worldwide effort to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The Putin regime is expected to reciprocate² and prohibit U.S. aircraft from entering Russian airspace. That could mean longer flights as jets are rerouted around closed airspace, but aviation industry experts say Russians will likely feel the greater impact.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the order prohibits all passenger, cargo³ and charter flights on "all aircraft owned, certified⁴, operated, registered, chartered, leased, or controlled by, for, or for the benefit of, a person who is a citizen of Russia."

Any aircraft operators who violate the ban on entering U.S. airspace "may be intercepted⁵, and their pilots and other crewmembers detained and interviewed by law enforcement or security personnel, as appropriate."

The airline that will see the most immediate⁶ impact is Russia's Aeroflot, which had been flying into Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, D.C, and had been flying over U.S. and Canadian airspace to destinations in the Caribbean. Those flights to and from the U.S. are now banned and Aeroflot will have to reroute flights to get to popular vacation destinations.

"So places like Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Cancun in Mexico, those destinations are not off limits," says Ian Petchenik of the global flight tracking service FlightRadar24. "But the route to get there has become significantly longer for Russian airlines," as they will have to fly through international airspace over the Atlantic.

An Aeroflot flight from Miami to Moscow on Sunday violated Canada's ban on Russian overflights. Canadian air traffic control authorities told Reuters that Aeroflot had declared the flight as a "humanitarian⁷" mission.

The country's aviation authority, Transport Canada, said on Twitter that it is investigating the airspace violation⁸. "We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations," the agency said.

In addition, Petchenik says vacation destinations in the Caribbean will be harder to get to.

Meanwhile, Delta⁹ Air Lines has suspended its code-share agreement with Aeroflot.

Russia is expected to return the favor and close off its airspace to U.S. airlines, as it has with those from Canada and the E.U., but Petchenik says the impact will be relatively¹⁰ small.

"It's very few passenger flights. And the cargo flights that are affected¹¹ are spending a little more time in the air, but most of these flights are still able to operate," he said.

No U.S airlines currently fly into any Russian cities, and those that flew over Russia's vast airspace to Asia had already been rerouting out of an abundance of caution. That adds time and burns a lot more fuel, increasing costs. So United Airlines has temporarily suspended flights over Russia to New Delhi and Mumbai, India.

And about 300 cargo flights a month are affected, most going from the West Coast or Anchorage, Alaska, to destinations in Japan, South Korea, China, and to Hong Kong, but Petchenik says they can divert their flight paths away from Russian airspace.

"So you're spending a little more time in the air, you're burning a little more fuel," but the flights can continue to operate.

Airline industry sources say had this happened before the pandemic, the impact would have been much greater. U.S. airlines few 1,400 flights a week through Russian airspace in 2019, but the pandemic sharply reduced international air travel.

European airlines are more greatly affected, as many are no longer flying to the Russian cities they served nor can they take shorter routes through Russian airspace to and from many Asian destinations.

Petchenik says Lufthansa's flight from Frankfurt to Tokyo, for example, which used to loop high over Russia's polar region, now has take a much longer path through south Asia. So a flight that used to take under 10 hours now takes nearly 13 hours.

"So you're adding a significant amount of time and a significant amount of distance covered, which means a significant amount of fuel burned as well," making it much more costly¹² for the airline, Petchenik said.

So while experts say the airspace ban is largely symbolic¹³, economic sanctions will likely cripple the ability of Russian airlines to operate their fleets, as it is becoming nearly impossible for them to get parts and make needed repairs to keep their planes flying

Aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus, and G.E., which makes and services airplane engines, both announced they are suspending parts, maintenance and technical support services for Russian airlines.

"The inability to access services and spare parts and all of the electronic support that come along with operating a modern airliner¹⁴, all of those things are going to bring Russia's commercial aviation industry to a halt very quickly," Petchenik says.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 reciprocate   

v.往复运动；互换；回报，酬答

参考例句：

• Although she did not reciprocate his feelings, she did not discourage him.尽管她没有回应他的感情，她也没有使他丧失信心。
• Some day I will reciprocate your kindness to me.总有一天我会报答你对我的恩德。

3 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

4 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

5 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

6 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

13 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

14 airliner   

n.客机，班机

参考例句：

• The pilot landed the airliner safely.驾驶员使客机安全着陆。
• The passengers were shepherded across the tarmac to the airliner.旅客们被引导走过跑道去上飞机。