Aeroflot, Rossiya, S7, Azur Air To Suspend All International Flights Following Rising Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Major airlines like Aeroflot, Rossiya, S7 and Azur Air have announced their suspension of their international flights in the wake of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Aeroflot

On March 5, Aeroflot announced that it’d suspend all international flights from the 8th of March. Only flights to Minsk in Belarus will continue to operate, four flights per day to be precise.

This decision was made following many countries and aircraft manufacturers imposed sanctions on Russia and its airlines and companies.

After Russia’s aviation agency recommended the Russian airlines operating leased planes registered abroad not to fly overseas to avoid being seized at foreign locations. It is reported that all flights from foreign destinations shall be ceased on Monday at 21:00 GMT.

Reporting on the case, Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, posted on twitter, claiming: “This decision is Russia’s attempt to have its airlines illegally hold on to hundreds of aircraft that, under EU sanctions, must be returned back to owners.”

Russian airlines are running high risks of having their aircrafts seized at foreign destinations, as many of them belong to lessors based in Ireland and Bermuda.

Although the EU has imposed a ban upon all Russian aircrafts, planes that aren’t owned by Russia can enter the EU airscape. Many leasing firms have already terminated their agreements as part of the recent imposed.

S7 Airlines

Russia’s second largest airline, S7, has also announced their cancelling all international flights starting from Saturday, March 5.

Previously, S7 had previously cancelled all flights from Europe from the 26th February to 13th March. There is no sign to suggest that these flights will be coming back any time soon.

Rossiya Airlines

A subsidiary of Aeroflot, Rossiya Airlines has also announced their temporary cancellation of international flights, effective from March 8.

"International services scheduled by Rossiya Airlines will also be suspended. Passengers of cancelled international flights are eligible for a full refund of tickets,” announced Aeroflot.

Azur Airlines

Starting from March 8, Azur Airlines will be suspending international flights. However, they will still be operating flights for Russian who are abroad in  Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, Dubai, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Vietnam and the Maldives.