Ireland joins several other countries enacting a ban on Russian planes from entering their airspace.

The Irish Government has confirmed that Russian carriers will not be permitted to enter Irish airspace amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The move was confirmed on Twitter earlier this morning by Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney. He wrote: "Shocking Russian attacks on Ukraine overnight. #Ireland will move to shut off Irish Airspace to all Russian Aircraft. "We encourage other EU partners to do the same. We also support new wide-ranging sanctions to be agreed today at EU FAC & new assistance package for #Ukraine." https://twitter.com/simoncoveney/status/1497836269132558339?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1497836269132558339%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.rte.ie%2Fnews%2Fireland%2F2022%2F0226%2F1283234-irish-airspace%2F As RTÉ reports, there will be a short notice period before Russian planes are fully prevented from entering Irish airspace. There are currently no direct flights from Russia to Ireland available, though there were plans for Aeroflot to start a direct route from Dublin to Moscow this May. Minister Coveney also issued advice for Irish people to avoid non-essential travel to Russia. Last night, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: "Due to the ongoing disruption to flight services to and from Russia, the Department of Foreign Affairs is advising citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Russia at this time. https://twitter.com/dfatravelwise/status/1497685969599881216 "Further flight cancellations and uncertainty on travel routes from Russia are expected in the coming days." On Friday, the UK banned Russian carriers and private jets from British airspace and airports. The country's Transport Minister Grant Shapps said in a tweet: "Putin's actions are unlawful and anyone benefitting from Russia's aggression in Ukraine is not welcome here. I've strengthened our ban in the UK so that no Russian private jet can fly in UK airspace, or touchdown – effective immediately." The Polish and Czech Governments have also said that they will enact similar bans. The EU's Foreign Council are expected to meet soon to discuss further sanctions on Russia, as the invasion of Ukraine continues. Facebook image of Simon Coveney: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie