(Ottawa) A Russian who landed in Yellowknife on a trip to Canada’s Far North has been fined $3,000 by Transport Canada for violating a ban on entering Canadian airspace. This ban has been in effect since Sunday.
Posted yesterday at 3:10 p.m.
The Dunard Engineering Ltd plane had landed at Yellowknife airport in the Northwest Territories on Tuesday, the third day of the ban on Russian aircraft entering the country. Canadian airspace.
The passenger had rented it in Geneva, Switzerland, to join friends who were preparing to make an expedition to the Canadian Far North, said a source familiar with the matter.
“After an investigation by Transport Canada, the Russian-controlled aircraft in Yellowknife violated the ban on Russian-operated or controlled aircraft in our airspace,” Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said on Twitter. Sanctions were imposed on the owner, the main customer and the pilots. »
Of the three people on board the aircraft, two were of Russian nationality, according to Transport Canada. The passenger and the two pilots were fined $3,000 each while the fine imposed on the company holding the aircraft is $15,000.
Canadian airspace was closed on Sunday “to all Russian aircraft operators” in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This includes aircraft owned, chartered or operated by Russian interests.
Another plane from the Russian company Aeroflot entered Canadian airspace the same day it was closed. An investigation has been opened by Transport Canada.