Sanctions on Russian aviation are a burden for Western firms

Editor's note: On March 14th Russia passed a law allowing carriers to re-register foreign leased jets as Russian. The move is intended “to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of activities in the field of civil aviation”

AS VLADIMIR PUTIN’S troops continued to lay waste to Ukraine on March 5th, Russia’s president surrounded himself with bouquet-wielding young women training as cabin crew for Aeroflot, the state-controlled airline. Aviation is vital for connecting the vast country. The uneasy grins on the faces of the ladies to whom he explained that Western sanctions were an act of war hinted that they understood the implications for their long-term career prospects. The same day that Mr Putin met its trainees, Aeroflot suspended all its international flights. By then the carrier had few places to fly. Britain was the first to ban Russian planes in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine. They are now also barred from skies above America, Canada, the EU and several other places. Western carriers, meanwhile, are no longer welcome in Russia airspace.