Emirates is Planning to Refuel its U.S.-Bound Flights in Europe Due to Possible Russian Sanctions

If international sanctions against Russia were to be imposed, the U.S.-bound flights would be diverted to Europe, where a refuelling stop would be needed to make it all the way to the West Coast.

In the past 24 hours, a growing number of European countries have banned Russian airliners from using their airspace, and in response, Moscow has applied similar airspace bans.

The United States has refused to follow the lead of countries like the UK and Poland, which are expected to impose a broad airspace ban later on Sunday.

The UN resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine was passed by the UN but the United Arab Emirates abstained from it.

The situation has forced Sir Tim Clark to start preparing for different scenarios, including a possible ban on the airline using Russian airspace.

The earth's curve allows the airline to route its flights through Russia to reduce the total distance from the United States. If the airline is forced to avoid Russia, it will have to stop in Europe.

We have been preparing for this scenario. Sir Tim told the Telegraph in an interview that they were looking at the US operation to the west coast.

If push comes to shove, we can still fly, but have to go into a European point filled with fuel. Hopefully it won't get to that. You never know which way this will go when you start aggression.

The dispute between Russia and the West could be good for airlines in the Middle East. There is a big question over how airlines will fly between Europe and Asia and the Far East now that Russian airspace is heavily restricted.

There are two choices. Either route further South and make the journey a lot longer or go in the complete opposite direction and stop in Alaska. During the Cold War, airlines had to rely on this route.

The Persian Gulf could be more attractive if both options are used.

Sir Tim told the Telegraph that they were good at responding to situations like this.

You never know what's going to happen next. We have assets in a lot of the countries around the conflict.