Russian airlines stop international flights: how to get abroad from there

The Federal Air Transport Agency recommended that Russian airlines stop international flights from midnight on March 6, reports with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

Over the previous day, several Russian airlines announced the cessation of all flights abroad - the only exception was Minsk (Belarus).

Here are answers to some of the most popular questions about this situation.

Does the announcement of the Federal Air Transport Agency mean a complete ban on international flights?

No, he doesn't mean that. The Federal Air Transport Agency has issued a recommendation - it advises stopping flights “there” from midnight on March 6 and “back” from midnight on March 8.

This ban is due to the fact that aircraft leased by Russian airlines from foreign (primarily European) lessors can be delayed abroad at the request of the owners.

On February 26, the EU announced sanctions against Russia.

The document, in particular, prohibits the sale of aircraft and their parts to individuals and legal entities in Russia and for use in Russia. Moreover, the ban applies regardless of whether these goods are made in the European Union. The document also prohibited direct or indirect insurance and reinsurance of these goods.

Russian companies have many aircraft from foreign lessors. According to the analytical company Cirium, these are 515 aircraft out of 777 leased aircraft.

But this does not mean that all of them can be delayed - this happens at the request of specific companies, for example lessors. However, such cases have already happened.

At the same time, since February 24-26, Russian airlines no longer fly over and to countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia, since airspace was mutually closed with them (more than 35 countries).

On March 5, following the statement of the Federal Air Transport Agency, several large companies announced the closure of international flights at once:

• Aeroflot (and with it Pobeda and Aurora) - from March 8.
• AzurAir - from March 8.
• Nordwind, PegasFly - from March 7.
• Royal flight - from March 5.

At the same time, there are companies that can continue to fly further - those that own aircraft, especially those made in Russia.

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These are at least four Russian airlines.
These are Red Wings and Azimut airlines, which own SSJ aircraft. Also UTair, which owns Boeing 737 and Iraero aircraft.

However, problems may arise for them too - for example, SSJ aircraft in their current form also have parts and components manufactured in Europe. In addition, it has a relatively short non-stop flight range - it was originally designed for regional flights.

Companies that use Boeing in Russia will also have service issues. On March 2, Boeing announced that it would stop deliveries of components to Russia. According to unconfirmed reports, this could happen by March 7th.

Will foreign companies continue to fly? Are they all right?

Carriers from countries that have not imposed sanctions against Russia still fly here.

Who exactly will fly abroad from Russia after March 8:

CIS airline

• Air Astana - Almaty, Nur-Sultan
• Armenia – Yerevan
• Avia Traffic – Kyrgyzstan
• FlyArystan — Almaty, Karaganda
• SCAT Airlines - Almaty, Nur-Sultan
• Somon Air - Tajikistan
• Uzbekistan Airways - Uzbekistan

Foreign airlines

• Air Arabia - Sharjah
• Air Serbia - Belgrade
• EgyptAir - Cairo
• El Al Israel Airlines - Tel Aviv
• Emirates Airline - Dubai
• Ethiopian Airlines - Addis Ababa
• Etihad Airways - Abu Dhabi
• Flydubai - Dubai
• Flyone Armenia – Yerevan
• Gulf Air - Bahrain
  Iraqi Airways - Baghdad
• Mahan Air - Tehran
• Pegasus Airlines - Antalya and Istanbul
• Mongolian Airlines - Ulaanbaatar
• Qatar Airways - Doha
• Royal Air Maroc – Casablanca
• Royal Jordanian - Amman
• Sri Lankan Airlines - Colombo
• Turkish Airlines - Istanbul
• Conviasa - Caracas

However, many of them lease aircraft or insure them from European companies. As a result, they can also stop flights at the request of European counterparties.

For example, Egypt Air closed flights to Russia on March 4 until March 10. The company explained that some European counterparties refused to “insure flights to Moscow and back against the backdrop of events around Ukraine and European sanctions against the Russian Federation” (quoted by TASS).

Two Azerbaijani airlines AZAL and Buta Airways are suspending all flights to cities of the Russian Federation from 08:00 on March 6.

They also cited changes in the international aviation insurance and reinsurance market related to sanctions as a reason.

What will happen to the planes of Russian airlines?

It's hard to say for sure.

Certain actions by the aviation authorities suggest that even if all lessors demand the return of their aircraft, Russian companies will look for a way not to comply with these requirements.

On March XNUMX, a draft resolution of the Russian government was published, which was prepared by the Ministry of Transport.
The document, in particular, proposes to allow the maintenance of aircraft by Russian legal entities with a maintenance organization certificate issued in accordance with Russian aviation rules.

They will be allowed to independently develop repair schemes that go beyond the scope of operational and technical documentation.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

As early as March 2, the Ministry of Transport was discussing options for what to do with the planes of Western leasing companies when demands come in to return them. The nationalization of the park was discussed as one of the options.

Reservation

Aeroflot is excluded from the global booking system. This leaves the carrier without any technical assistance with the booking. simple flying.

Saber Corp, a leading software and technology company, has terminated an agreement with Aeroflot over its global booking system. This is the latest in a series of other similar developments that have seen aerospace companies distance themselves from airlines in Russia over the past few days.

The airlines in Russia are not doing well, as they are becoming more and more isolated from the global aviation community every day. Now Texas-based travel technology company Saber Corp, which provides several services to Aeroflot, has said it is removing information about the Russian carrier's flights from its global distribution system (GDS).

Sean Menke, CEO of Saber, commented: “Saber is following developments in Ukraine with growing concern. From the very beginning, our primary concern has been the safety of our team members in the affected region, as well as our contribution to support the much-needed relief effort. We oppose this military conflict. We comply and will continue to comply with the sanctions imposed against Russia. In addition, today we announced that Saber has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, removing its content from our GDS."

The company employs about 1500 people in Poland and has also donated $1 million to the Polish Red Cross to support humanitarian programs in the region.

Such a termination of the system of distribution and booking of tickets can seriously undermine the airline. This means that Aeroflot flights will not be displayed in online travel agency systems and third-party websites.

However, Saber continues to provide Aeroflot with other automation services. The CNN report quoted aviation industry analyst Robert Mann of RW Mann & Company as saying, “Saber provides booking, passenger service, operations, network planning and management systems. These are the main automation systems, commercial, operational and planning systems, without which airlines cannot function, except in a minimal amount and manually.

Now Aeroflot will have to look for another alternative to such services, which will probably take some time.

As ForumDaily wrote earlier:

• On the night of February 24 began full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine.
• In the light of these events in Russia and around the world, protests against the invasion of Ukraine
• US and UK imposed broad economic sanctions against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine.
• February 25 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table. Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin is ready to send a delegation to Minsk (Belarus) for negotiations with Kiev. He specified that the delegation will include representatives of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the presidential administration.
• In the USA there were large-scale rallies in support of Ukraine.
• Pope Francis visits the Russian Embassy February 25, to personally "express his concerns about the war" in Ukraine, which made an unprecedented deviation from diplomatic protocol.
• European Union, USA and UK imposed sanctions and froze the assets of Putin and Lavrov.
• The United States declared its readiness to start accept refugees from Ukraine.
• February 26, the world famous and one of the most popular groups of hackers Anonymous recorded a video message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They promised to find all "skeletons in the closet" and "leave no stone unturned".
• As it became known, the Oscar-winning Hollywood actor Sean Penn is located in Ukraine and is making a documentary for Vice about events in the country.
• February 28 The world's largest aircraft An-225 was destroyed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it caused alarm and sadness among the aviation world, in which it occupies an almost cult status.
• On the same day, the United States and France called on their citizens immediately consider leaving Russia.
• From the very beginning of the invasion, many actions took place around the world in support of Ukraine. How it was in the USA, see our material.
• On March 1, the United States asked 12 Russian diplomats from the United Nations leave the US accusing them of "espionage activities" as Russia continues its advance into Ukraine.
• March 2 Russian businessman Alex Konanykhin offered a $1 million reward for dead or alive Putin.
• Airbus and Boeing refused to work with Russia, this endangers almost the entire civil aviation of the country.
• March 3 CEO and founder of the Russian TV channel "Rain" announced the suspension of the channel. This is due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• Which of the Hollywood stars supported Ukraine, and who was on the side of Russia, read here.
• What Russians living in Ukraine say about the war, you can find out in our material.
• Which companies left Russia and how it hit the economy, read on link.
• Where citizens of Ukraine can receive special services in Poland - by link.
• The US State Department has warned citizens of Ukraine that the US Mission in Ukraine does not currently offer visa services. That's it services provided in Germany.
• Meanwhile, the killers tried to kill the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky at least three times since Russia invaded his country on February 24.
• In Russia, the situation with free media is becoming more and more difficult. Even relatives of Ukrainians from Russia do not believe in shelling of Ukraine.

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