EU airspace ban to Russia has bent aviation rules – Italy’s Civil Aviation Chief

MILAN (Reuters) – The closure of EU airspace to Russian airliners has been decided without respecting international aviation rules, the chairman of Italy’s Civil Aviation Authority ENAC said on Monday.

The comments appeared to be one of the first signs of differences in European ranks since the airspace ban was announced on Sunday, but a European official said the decision was lawful.

Speaking at a digital conference, ENAC Chairman Pierluigi Di Palma said the Ukraine crisis brought European countries to decide in favour of the ban in violation of the international procedures. He did not specify what the violations were.

“…We see international treaties being violated to some extent with respect to the airspace ban decided by the West against Russia,” Di Palma said.

Di Palma said that the airspace ban decided by the European Union and applied by Italy had bent both bilateral treaties and the rules of United Nations’ aviation agency International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“EU sanctions are carefully crafted in line with international law. EU is fully confident of full legality of the measures and their effectiveness,” a European official who asked not to be identified told Reuters.

ICAO, whose origin derives from the Chicago Convention in 1944, sets standards for aviation globally.

ICAO’s governing council condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday after what delegates described as a debate over whether it should intervene.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)