The European Union's Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has imposed restrictive measures against Russia in connection with the military invasion of Ukraine. EASA has suspended all certificates if the certificate holder stays or resides in Russia or is otherwise subject to sanctions.

These include licenses of air carriers for products, spare parts, devices, aircraft maintenance licenses, as well as licenses of training centers for organizations and training devices for flight simulation.

It should be noted that earlier the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine addressed the key international organizations, in particular the European Commission, with the requirement of full infrastructural blockade of the Russian Federation.

How will this hit the aggressor?

Aircraft without the appropriate certificates are not allowed to fly in EU airspace. Among the companies with suspended licenses are the major Russian airlines such as Aeroflot, S7, Volga-Dnepr, Ural Airlines, Azur, etc.

EASA has also suspended the licenses of a number of aircraft maintenance companies, including A-Technics, S7 Engineering, and Volga-Dnepr Technics. Certificates of Tu-204 and Superjet 100 aircraft manufactured in Russia have also been suspended.

Currently, the regulator has stopped accepting and considering new applications for certification from organizations of the aggressor country.

These decisions directly affect the work of Russian airlines not only in the EU but also around the world. Europe's top air regulator is effectively severing ties with the Russian aviation market and is seriously questioning its ability to enforce security guarantees.

As a reminder, on February 26, the EU imposed sanctions against Russia, prohibiting the provision of technical assistance or other services related to goods and technologies suitable for use in the aviation or space industry.