Is it safe to travel to eastern Europe right now? Your questions answered by the experts

Readers planning to travel to eastern Europe have been sharing their concerns about flying in the coming weeks, amidst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

With no commercial flights operating in or out of Ukraine, Moldova or over parts of Belarus, travellers are wondering whether travelling to neighbouring countries is safe.

Here we answer your questions on travelling in Europe, based on the latest information from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

The regulator is sharing their assessments on airspace safety via a Conflict Zone Information Bulletin (CZIB), published here. The latest update warned against travelling over the region of Chisinau in Moldova, and Minsk, the capital of Belarus.

It also recommended that air operators exercise caution over Moscow and southern Russian city of Rostov “due to heightened military”, which could include the launching of mid-range missiles into controlled airspace.

EASA takes into account all available intelligence information when updating the CZIB, a spokeswoman told Euronews Travel, working closely with the European Commission and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation - known as Eurocontrol.

Only the assessment is made public, however. It is shared with the National Aviation Authorities in EASA member states for them to pass on to their airlines. Air carriers use this information when making their own risk assessments.

As airspace is sovereign, it can only be closed by the individual country. Likewise, EASA does not tell European airlines where they can and cannot fly; the risk bulletin is only a recommendation. Some countries can order their own airlines not to fly in the airspace of other countries, as the UK and Russia have now done regarding each other’s