Antalya-based Southwind Airlines’ flights to the EU banned due to Russia

The European Union announced that it had banned the flights of the Antalya-based airline to the EU due to Russia. The EU imposed a flight ban on Antalya-based Southwind Airlines, alleging its connection with Russia. Antalya-Kaliningrad flights were canceled.

According to a report published on Aerotelegraph.com, an investigation by the Finnish aviation authority concluded that Southwind’s main ownership and effective control were not in Turkey but in Russia, and it was linked to Russian actors.

As a result, Finland denied Southwind permission to operate flights between Antalya and Helsinki, raising questions about how other European countries will respond.

Southwind Airlines had plans to fly to Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, and Stuttgart in Germany. Additionally, the city of Heraklion in Greece was also included in the flight schedule.

It was noted that since the entire European airspace had been closed to Southwind, the company would not be able to fly to Zurich.

The EU skies have been closed to Russian aircraft and airlines since February 2022. The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia had also taken similar measures. In response, Russia had closed its airspace to carriers from 36 countries.