- A Turkish passenger plane flew through Ukrainian airspace on July 25 for several hours.
- Civilian airspace over Ukraine is closed because of the war there, and risky to enter.
A passenger plane flew through Ukraine's closed airspace last month after a storm diverted its path, the airline said.
The plane, an Airbus A320-200 operated by Turkish company BBN Airlines, was flying from Oslo, Norway to Antalya, Turkey on July 25.
It flew through southwestern Ukraine, passing the Zakarpattya and Chernivtsi regions, The New Voice of Ukraine reported.
Ukraine closed its airspace when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, forbidding civilian aircraft to enter.
In an e-mail to Insider, a BBN spokesperson said that the aircraft flew over the country when the pilots changed course to avoid a storm.
The area the plane flew has not seen heavy fighting, which has been concentrated hundreds of miles to the east. But flying in close airspace is still risky. Russian missiles have hit both regions before, and it's possible that Ukraine's air defense could react to an unexpected plane overhead.
BBN is a new airline which began operating in 2023 and operates charter flights. Per its website, it has five planes.
"We understand the concern that this incident causes and guarantee that we will actively take measures to prevent similar incidents," the spokesperson said.
They did not elaborate on whether the pilots did this by accident or if there have been any repercussions as a result of their decision. The flight was chartered by Freebird Airlines but a spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Norwegian news outlet NRK posted screenshots of the flight route, which appears to show that the plane deviated from its route and into western Ukraine before proceeding to the airspace of Romania.
It is unclear how many passengers were on the plane at the time, The New Voice of Ukraine reported. The model of A320 can carry some 180 people.
A spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Transport did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.