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Russian airline Aeroflot violated a ban on Russian aircraft using Canadian airspace on Sunday, according to Transport Canada, on the same day the restriction was imposed in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
“We are aware that Aeroflot Flight 111 violated the earlier today’s prohibition on Russian flights using Canadian airspace,” Transport Canada said in a late-Sunday tweet.
Flight 111 departs Miami, Florida for Moscow at 15:12 ET, according to FlightRadar24.
Although there are no direct flights between Russia and Canada, several Russian flights per day have previously passed through Canadian airspace on their way to other countries, according to a spokesperson for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Following the violation, Transport Canada announced that it will conduct an investigation into the actions of Aeroflot and Canada’s air-traffic control service provider, Nav Canada.
The Canadian regulator stated, “We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations.”
Reuters’ requests for comment were not immediately responded to by Aeroflot or Nav Canada.
At 0900 ET on Sunday, Minister Alghabra announced that Canada would close its airspace to Russian aircraft operators, following similar measures taken by other countries.
“We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks on Ukraine,” said transport minister Alghabra in a tweet.
Aeroflot has been barred from entering British airspace. Poland and the Czech Republic also announced that Russian airlines would be barred from using their airspace, while airlines such as IAG-owned British Airways and Virgin Atlantic began rerouting flights around Russian airspace.
Canada, along with the United States, has imposed severe sanctions on Russia, specifically targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Canada was also a member of a Western alliance that barred “selected” Russian banks from using SWIFT.
