Europe's aviation regulator issues new warning for Russian airspace

BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a new alert on Thursday warning non-European carriers not to fly within western Russia airspace due to the risk of being unintentionally targeted by its air defence systems.

EASA said the crash last month in Kazakhstan of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, after Russian air defences fired against Ukrainian drones, demonstrated the high risk at play. At least 38 people died in the crash.

"The ongoing conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine poses the risk of civil aircraft being unintentionally targeted in the airspace of the Russian Federation due to possible civil-military coordination deficiencies, and the potential for misidentification," EASA said.

"EASA recommends not to operate within the affected airspace of the Russian Federation located west of longitude 60° East at all altitudes and flight levels."

The warning was for third-country operators authorised by EASA, given Russian airspace has been closed to European Union airlines since the bloc imposed Ukraine-related sanctions targeting Russia's aviation sector.

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan's investigation told Reuters last month that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot the airliner down. Passengers said they heard a loud bang outside the plane.

President Vladimir Putin apologised to Azerbaijan's leader for what the Kremlin called a "tragic incident" although the Kremlin statement did not say Russia had shot down the plane, only noting that a criminal case had been opened.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by Rod Nickel)