Ukraine taking Steps to Keep its Airspace Open

Ukraine is taking steps to keep its airspace open after KLM became the first major airline to suspend flights to the capital Kyiv. The move cameras tensions over Russia's military build-up on the Ukraine border intensify despite diplomatic efforts to ease the situation.

It is also possible that other airlines follow up KLM due to the rising insurance costs. The deputy head of the office of the president in Ukraine, Kirill Tymoshenko has said that the country was willing to underwrite some of the costs.

The travel industry in the country is feared after the Malaysian Airline flight MH17 was shot down while flying near eastern Ukraine's conflict zone in July 2014, taking the lives of all the passengers and the crew.

Ukraine budget airline SkyUp also said that the flight was forced to land in Moldova on Sunday after the plane’s Irish leasing company revoked permission for it to cross into Ukraine. Data from a global tracking service shows that the airspace over northern Turkey, on the other side of the Black Sea from Ukraine, is particularly busy.

Airspace in Russia just over its eastern border with Ukraine is also busy, but the planes are relatively few over Ukraine. Concerns about rising tensions over Ukraine cast a shadow over European stock markets. 

Shares in the British Airways owner IAG, Wizz Air, and travel group Tui fell about 6.5%. The stock markets in Paris and Germany were also down more than 3%, while London's FTSE 100 share index fell 2%. Seeing the current situation, many countries have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine amid warnings from Western powers. These countries include the USA, UK, and Germany among them.