by Donald Wood
Last updated: 8:40 AM ET, Thu March 3, 2022
Two of the largest carriers in Japan, All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines, announced they have canceled all flights to and from Europe scheduled for Thursday and rerouted aircraft scheduled to fly on Friday due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
According to Reuters.com, the two Japanese airlines join a growing list of carriers that canceled or rerouted flights between Europe and northern Asia, as ANA and Japan Airlines typically use Russian airspace for their European routes.
The two carriers operate about 60 flights per week through Russian airspace between Tokyo and London, Paris, Frankfurt and Helsinki. ANA also announced the cancelations and flight changes would continue into at least Saturday.
"We are continuously monitoring the situation, but given the present situation in Ukraine and the different risks, we have decided to cancel flights," a Japan Airlines spokesperson told Reuters.
Korean Air was still offering flights that include time in Russian airspace on Thursday, but carriers in Taiwan have started flying over China and central Asia instead. Finnair's flights to Japan were initially canceled, but the carrier altered its route and continued four-times-weekly service between Helsinki and Tokyo.
As for airlines from the European Union and Canada, they have been banned from Russian airspace in response to their respective curbs on Russian airlines.
Earlier this week, United States President Joe Biden announced in his State of the Union Address that he would ban Russian aircraft from flying over American airspace, adding to the sanctions against Russia for invading neighboring Ukraine.
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