After escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the Ukrainian civil aviation regulator, the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine, has moved to ban all Russian aircraft from operating to Ukrainian airports. In response to the ban, Russia has similarly banned all Ukrainian aircraft from operating to Russian airports. The bans are expected to take effect as of the 25th of October 2015. The bans are expected to have prospective network implications for Ukraine International Airlines, Aeroflot Russian Airlines, S7 Airlines, UTair and Transaero Airlines.

The Swedish civil aviation regulator, Transportstyrelsen, has officially revoked Iraqi Airways’ rights to operate within Swedish airspace due to growing concerns regarding the airline’s adherence to adequate safety standards. Transportstyrelsen stated that its decision to ban the airline from operating to Swedish airports stemmed from the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) decision to reject the airline’s Third Country Operators (TCO) application. The TCO allows airlines to commence operations to any EU country without having to apply for individual rights within each country. EASA reportedly noted that the application was rejected due to the airline’s failure to adhere to the required safety standards.

The US civil aviation regulator, the FAA, has given the Thai Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) 65 days to rectify and respond to a number of deficiencies that were identified during a recent audit of the regulator. The audit by the FAA was promoted by the recent Significant Safety Concern (SSC) raised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) during an audit of the DCA. In the event that the DCA fails to resolve the identified deficiencies, the FAA will most likely move to downgrade Thailand from a ‘Category 1’ country to a ‘Category 2’ country as a part of its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme. This downgrade will consequently prohibit all Thai-based carriers from commencing new operations to the U.S.