Russian airline Aeroflot breached a prohibition on Russian planes accessing Canadian airspace on Sunday, according to Transport Canada, on the same day the restriction was enacted in reaction to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
"We are aware that Aeroflot Flight 111 breached the earlier today's restriction on Russian planes utilising Canadian airspace," Transport Canada stated in a late-Sunday tweet.
Flight 111 departs Miami, Florida for Moscow at 15:12 ET, according to FlightRadar24.
Although there are no direct flights connecting Russia and Canada, numerous Russian planes every day have previously crossed over Canadian airspace on their way to other countries, according to a spokesperson for Transport Minister Omar Alghabra.
Following the infringement, Transport Canada said that it will initiate an investigation into the actions of Aeroflot and Canada's air-traffic control service provider, Nav Canada.
The Canadian regulator stated, "We will not hesitate to take necessary enforcement action and other steps to avoid future infringement."
Reuters' requests for comment were not immediately responded to by Aeroflot or Nav Canada.
At 0900 ET on Sunday, Minister Alghabra said that Canada will block its airspace to Russian aircraft operators, following similar actions taken by other nations.
"We will hold Russia accountable for its unprovoked attacks against Ukraine," said Alghabra in a Twitter post.
Canada, together with the United States, has slapped heavy penalties on Russia, specifically targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Canada was also a member of a Western coalition that barred "selected" Russian banks from using SWIFT payments.
(With inputs from Reuters)