On Sunday, Russian airline Aeroflot broke a limitation on using Canadian airspace, prompting Canada to issue a warning.
The infraction occurred on the same day that Canada and Europe said they would prevent Russian aircraft from flying over their airspace in punishment for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, putting pressure on the United States to follow suit.
“We are aware that Aeroflot Flight 111 violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace,” Transport Canada said in a tweet late on Sunday.
Aeroflot Flight 111 took off from Miami, Fla. to Moscow at 3:12 p.m. on Sunday, according to FlightRadar24.
(1/2) We are aware that Aeroflot flight 111 violated the prohibition put in place earlier today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace.
— Transport Canada (@Transport_gc) February 28, 2022
Following the infringement, Transport Canada said it will launch an investigation into the acts of Aeroflot and Nav Canada, Canada’s air-traffic control service provider.
According to a spokeswoman for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra, there are no direct flights between Russia and Canada, despite the fact that several Russian flights pass through Canadian airspace every day on their way to other countries.
“We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action and other measures to prevent future violations,” the Canadian regulator said.
Aeroflot did enter Canadian airspace, Nav Canada confirmed to Reuters.
The aircraft operator recognized the flight as a humanitarian flight as it neared domestic airspace, which needs special handling by air traffic control under normal circumstances, according to the report.
