Air France and Lufthansa are the latest airlines to suspend flights to Ukraine as fears of a Russian invasion mount.
The French carrier said it would cancel flights to and from the capital Kiev on Tuesday as a “precautionary measure”, citing the security situation.
“Air France will regularly review the situation and will remind you that the safety of its flights, customers and crews is an absolute imperative,” Air France said in a statement on Monday (21).
Germany’s Lufthansa said on Saturday it would suspend flights to and from Kiev and Odessa, a southern port city, until the end of February.
Swiss International Air Lines, Eurowings and Austrian Airlines, which are part of the Lufthansa Group, also suspended flights until the end of the month.
Dutch carrier KLM was the first major international airline to suspend flights to Ukraine earlier this month.
“The safety of our passengers and crew is our top priority at all times. Due to the current situation in Ukraine, Lufthansa Group airlines are suspending their scheduled flights to Kiev and Odessa,” the Lufthansa Group said in a statement.
Lufthansa Group flights to Lviv, located in western Ukraine, will continue to operate as normal. The United States moved its embassy from Kiev to Lviv last week.
Lufthansa Group, which normally operates 94 flights to and from Ukraine each week, said it would rebook affected passengers to alternative routes.
US officials estimate that around 190,000 Russian and separatist troops are stationed near the Ukrainian border, ready to mount an attack.
Russia regained Crimea in 2014, which was part of an independent Ukraine, despite protests from the West.
The intense fighting has also left parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts in the eastern Donbas region in the hands of Russian-backed separatists.
In 2014, 298 people aboard a Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur died when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
An investigation by Dutch authorities concluded that a missile launcher belonging to the Russian army was used in the attack. Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement.
Source: CNN Brasil
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