Russian Foreign Ministry explains why Russian aircraft can stop flying to the US

Media reported that the Russian Foreign Ministry does not rule out the cessation of direct flights to the United States due to problems that Aeroflot employees have encountered in obtaining American visas. Is this the first time such a threat has been made and how real is it?

Фото: Depositphotos

The ministry’s statement was published on its website on Thursday evening and is devoted to the difficulties that Russians face in obtaining visas at the US embassy. It states that the waiting time for a visa interview has recently been extended to 250 days.

Does the MFA actually allow suspension of flights?

Yes. This is stated in the fifth paragraph of the commentary of the Information Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, published on Thursday. It begins with the words: “It is no longer even possible to rule out that our countries will be left without air traffic.”

Aeroflot, the statement said, may be forced to stop regular flights between Russia and the United States as crews “are experiencing increasing difficulties in obtaining American visas.”

The obligation to provide visas for pilots and flight attendants is fixed in the Russian-American agreement on air traffic from 1994, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates.

The problems with the visa for the pilots talked for the first time?

No. The Russian Foreign Ministry reported back in December that Aeroflot pilots were experiencing difficulties in obtaining American visas, Interfax recalls.

A new round of history began a week ago, April 11, with the message Telegram-channel Wargonzo that the issuance of American visas to Aeroflot employees was allegedly stopped.

“Flight crew, that is, pilots and flight attendants, cannot open new visas, and those who run out do not have their old ones renewed,” it said.

At the same time, the authors of the channel emphasized that they could not verify the information received by them.

Does Aeroflot confirm this?

Yes and no. After the uproar on social networks that has risen because of the message Telegram-channel Wargonzo, a comment from an airline representative appeared - but only anonymously.

Aeroflot crews do indeed encounter difficulties in obtaining American visas, an Interfax source said at the time. He explained them by the “impossibility of scheduling interviews,” and reminded that this was a “common problem for all residents of the Russian Federation.”

This problem arose after the mass expulsion of American diplomats. The Russian service of the BBC told about what workarounds the Russians are looking for in order to get a visa.

Aeroflot has a sufficient number of crews with open US visas to ensure uninterrupted air traffic between countries, Interfax’s interlocutor emphasized.

A source from the BBC Russian Service, close to the airline, confirmed that Aeroflot has a tense situation with obtaining visas for flight personnel. “But there is no tragedy,” he emphasized.

According to him, the crew’s visas are issued for five years, so there is no threat of stopping flights due to the lack of pilots who can fly to the USA.

After the statement by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the threat of stopping air services, the airline made the first official statement in this regard. It was very laconic: “Aeroflot confirms the problem with crews obtaining US visas.”

Aeroflot said nothing about how real the threat voiced by the Russian Foreign Ministry is. And on Friday, a company representative told RIA Novosti that “the available visas are enough to maintain flights for several months.”

Does the US Embassy confirm?

Not. On Friday, it came out with a rebuttal.

“The allegations that Aeroflot crew members allegedly cannot sign up for visa interviews in Russia are untrue and unconstructive,” embassy spokeswoman Andrea Kalan told Interfax.

It turns out that time slots are reserved for airline crews to conduct interviews. “And quite often this specially allocated time remains unused,” the embassy says.

Is Aeroflot the only carrier in the US?

Yes. Currently, it is the only airline that operates direct flights to the United States. Previously, two companies worked in this direction - the Russian Aeroflot and the American Delta.

Since the end of the year 2015 Delta stopped flying to Russia in winter, but restored flights in the high season - spring and summer.

In March this year, the Kommersant newspaper reported that the American airline had decided not to resume flights to Russia this year. "Delta continues to analyze the route network and has made this difficult decision for itself,” the airline itself confirmed this information.

Aeroflot was planning, as RBC wrote, to launch an additional (third) flight to New York from the beginning of the summer season.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How to prepare for a plane crash? Passenger Instructions

How to live illegally in Manhattan and travel around the country: the experience of Russians

Why can a passenger be pulled out of the airplane window

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.