European Union (EU) bans NATO member Türkiye’s airline Southwind from its Airspace following Finland's Footsteps.
The decision came after the Finnish transport authority claimed that Türkiye’s Southwind Airlines is partly owned by Russian investors.
The European Union has taken a decision to close its airspace to Türkiye’s Southwind Airlines over its alleged links to Russia, which could be read as a measure related to the sanctions against Russia over the Ukraine conflict.
Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet reported on March 30 that the EU has banned the Turkish airline Southwind from flying in its airspace due to evidence of the company's links to Russia.
The Antalya-based charter airline was created to ferry passengers between Russia and Türkiye but recently requested permission to also operate flights from Türkiye to Germany, Greece, Finland, and other EU states.
The European and some other countries have banned Russian carriers or Russian-owned airplanes from using EU airspace, as well as prohibited the export of aviation-related technology after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Southwind Airlines was founded in April 2022 in Turkey and operates flights to a dozen destinations in Russia and Belarus, as well as Moldova, Lebanon, and North Macedonia.
Founded shortly after the outbreak of war, and although formally registered in Antalya, most of its assets and personnel, including all three aircraft, were transferred from Russia's Nordwind Airlines, owned by tour operator Pegas Touristik.
Southwind planned to start flights between Antalya and Helsinki, but on March 25 was denied landing rights by the Finnish transport authority due to evidence the airline is controlled by Russia.
On March 25, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency banned the airline from its airspace, explaining that a probe had revealed that “the substantial ownership and effective control” of the carrier is “linked to Russian stakeholders,” and therefore it cannot be allowed to operate in the EU state.
"Our overall assessment shows that the stated Turkish individuals or companies do not hold the substantial ownership and effective control of Southwind Airlines," said Jarkko Saarimäki, director general of the Finnish transport authority.
"We have concluded that the airline and its control are linked to Russian stakeholders," Saarimäki added.
In response to Finland's decision, Brussels also banned Southwind from taking off, landing in the EU, or flying above EU airspace, Cumhuriyet reported.
By March 28th, as reported by the Turkish publication Turizm Guncel, Brussels informed its members that Southwind Airlines, officially known as Cortex Aviation and Tourism Trade, had been banned from taking off, flying, and landing under Article 31 of Regulation No. 833/2014, Article 3d 31.
Prior to the imposition of sanctions, the airline operated flights to Germany, Switzerland, Greece, North Macedonia, and Italy.
On March 30, the Association of Russian Tour Operators announced the cancellation of Southwind’s flights to Kaliningrad due to EU sanctions. When we talk about Russian travel industry today, amid sanctions, Russians are finding it difficult to travel and spending holidays is becoming a tough as for now.
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As well as Helsinki, Southwind Airlines is now banned from operating flights to the German cities of Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart.
The airline is also unable to launch a planned route to Zurich because of the ban on flying above EU airspace, Cumhuriyet said.
In February, the EU and US introduced yet another set of sanctions against Russia that targeted a variety of entities in several countries, including Türkiye. A total of 16 Turkish companies were sanctioned for allegedly facilitating the transit of dual-use goods that could be used by the Russian military.
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