Despite recent Russian missile strikes and troops moving in on Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, flights will continue to run from Philadelphia to European countries.
American Airlines currently plans on continuing service to European cities for the immediate future, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, the airline does not offer any flights to Ukraine, and Ukraine has closed its airspace to all civilian flights in light of the conflict.
American Airlines will begin additional direct flights from Philadelphia to locations such as Lisbon, Rome, Madrid, Paris, and Amsterdam beginning later this month.
While American Airlines does not foresee changes in flights, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated.
Thus far, Russian forces have killed 137 Ukrainians and wounded over 300 citizens. Ukrainians are taking shelter in metro stations, and citizens are trying to flee across the Polish border.
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency urges airlines not to travel to Ukraine, Russia, or areas within 200 nautical miles of their respective borders.
President Biden announced harsh sanctions on Thursday in response to Russia’s aggression, and he stated that relations between Russia and the United States have been ruptured, NBC reported.
Other international leaders have taken similar measures.
“We now have war in Europe, on a scale and of a type we thought belong to history," Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg said in a press briefing.
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