Russia partially reopens international flights

Russia's international flights have been suspended since April 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Starting on August 1, Russia has partially resumed international flights. Previously, on July 21, Russian authorities said that in the first stage of resuming international flights, only air traffic will be allowed to be restored to six major cities of the country: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Vladivostok.

Meanwhile, representatives of several major Russian airports confirmed that all international airports are ready to serve. However, according to the assessment of the Russian Service for Supervision, Protection of Health and Consumer Rights (Rospotrebnadzor), it is necessary to limit the number of cities that reopen international air routes to minimize the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection throughout the Federation. Russian airports not on the list of the first phase will be allowed to reopen international flights no earlier than mid-August. In Moscow alone, all three international airports here, including Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Vnukovo, have reopened international flights to ensure the interests of major airlines based at different airports in Moscow.

Previously, on July 8, Rospotrebnadzor presented the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency of Russia with a list of 13 countries to which Russia has resumed air traffic in the first stage. The list of countries that meet the epidemiological indicators includes 9 European Union countries: the UK, Hungary, Germany, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Finland and 4 Asian countries: Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Sri Lanka.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia has suspended regular and charter flights with all countries since March 27. The country only allows flights from Russia to pick up stranded citizens in other countries, as well as cargo, postal, ambulance and humanitarian flights, empty aircraft for maintenance, transit flights landing for refueling (or crew change) on the territory of this country and flights carried out at the sole discretion of the Russian Government.

As of early August 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic had infected more than 845,000 people in Russia, with more than 14,000 deaths.

Rosemary