Russian airline Aeroflot had to take an eight-hour “flight to nowhere” after Canada banned Russian planes from entering its airspace in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Flight SU124 to New York took off from Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport at 2:40 p.m. on Sunday, February 27, and completed more than a third of the journey before returning.

Four hours later, when the Boeing 777 had almost arrived in Greenland, the decision was made to return to Russia.

Aunque EE.UU. aún ha seguido les pasos del Reino Unido y la UE (Unión Europea) al prohibirle a las aerolíneas rusas en espacio aéreo, la notification de que Canadá había hecho lo mismo le dio a la aerolínea pocas opciones más que regresar la vol.

The regular Moscow-New York route used by Aeroflot passes through the northwest, flying over Finland, Sweden, Norway, Greenland and Canada before landing in the United States.

With the news that the plane could no longer cross Canadian airspace, the crew was left with limited options, as there was likely not enough fuel to reach New York if the plane was hijacked .

Instead of making the 10-hour, 45-minute journey to JFK Airport as planned, the plane landed in Moscow nearly eight hours after it had departed.

However, another Aeroflot flight on Sunday appears to have violated airspace rules.

Flight 111 from Miami to Moscow was scheduled to depart at 1:55 p.m. and took off after Canada and the EU banned the entry of Russian planes.

However, according to flight tracking sites, the plane still crossed Canadian airspace.

Transport Canada issued a warning and said it was “investigating” the violation.

“We are aware that Aeroflot Flight 111 violated the ban established today on Russian flights using Canadian airspace,” he said in a statement.

“We will conduct a review of the conduct of Aeroflot and the independent air navigation service provider, NAVCAN, which led to this violation.”

“We will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement and other measures to prevent future violations.” »