The international air routes operated by Vietnamese airlines are not affected by tensions in the Russia - Ukraine relations, Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Viet Nam (CAAV) Dinh Viet Thang affirmed on February 24.

Viet Nam Airlines is the only Vietnamese carrier to conduct flights to Moscow at present. (Photo: VNA)

Thang told the Viet Nam News Agency that only Viet Nam Airlines is conducing flights to Moscow, and the national flag carrier has for long prepared plans to fly over Russia and Western Europe, instead of Belarus and Ukraine.

Therefore, Russia - Ukraine tensions do not impact the international air routes operated by Vietnamese carriers, he noted.

Russian news network RT reported that many big cities of Ukraine heard big explosions on February 24 morning (Viet Nam time).

Earlier the same day, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation to protect people in the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk and People's Republic of Luhansk in Donbass, eastern Ukraine.

Reuters reported that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on February 24 warned airlines to avoid flying over Ukraine and exercise “extreme caution” in airspace within 185km of the Belarus - Ukraine and Russia - Ukraine borders.

The Ukrainian Government shut airports in eastern Ukraine from midnight through 7am due to escalating tensions. The country’s aviation authorities also declared some airspace in the east to be “danger areas”.

Source: VNA