Southwind Airlines, a Turkish leisure airline founded in April 2022, has been banned from EU airspace following a review.
Southwind Airlines was banned by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency from operating flights to Finland on 25 March 2024,. According to the agency, Southwind Airlines is factually a Russian airline attempting to bypass European Union sanctions against Russia. The ban was extended to al of Europe.
The airline, based in Antalya, Turkey, aimed to cater to Russian tourists following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and received preclearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in June 2022.
Flights to Russia commenced in August 2022, followed by charter flights to Germany in September of the same year. The airline used three Turkish airports: Antalya (Hub), Istanbul and Trabzon.
Southwind Airlines planned to expand its network to England in the summer of 2024, but all flights were subsequently cancelled after the EU airspace ban in March 2024.
The affected routes are:
- Germany: Berlin Brandenburg, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Leipzig/Halle, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart
- Greece: Heraklion International
- Italy: Orio al Serio International
- Switzerland: EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg
