Some airlines are still flying to Moscow and other russian airports

Turkey is one of the largest carriers of russian passengers on international routes. In particular, Pegasus and Turkish Airlines operate flights to airports in russia. This is discussed in the NV Business article ‘More than just the economy: Will Zelenskyy’s warning halt international air links with russia?’.

Aviation expert Oleksandr Shulyak pointed out that flights to russia are also still being operated by airlines from the Middle and Far East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Belarus. Among them, there is only one European carrier — the Serbian airline Air Serbia.

Carriers from the EU and North America suspended flights back in February–March 2022 due to russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of widespread aviation sanctions. In turn, the russians also banned flights by Western airlines in their airspace.

However, air links were not completely cut off. “Istanbul, Dubai and Chinese hubs are no longer just travel destinations. They are among the main gateways through which russia remains connected to the global aviation network. Therefore, Moscow has a huge political and economic incentive to convince both its own and, in particular, foreign carriers that nothing has fundamentally changed and that flights can continue,” wrote aviation expert Denys Antoniuk in a column for NV Business.

For their part, russian airlines have not completely abandoned international routes. “Aeroflot, Azimut, rossiya and others are operating flights to Yerevan, Baku, cities in Georgia, the UAE and Istanbul,” says Shulyak. Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft are predominantly used, as they are russian-owned and cannot be seized abroad at the request of lessors. Aeroflot also operates select flights to the UAE and Turkey using long-haul and medium-haul Airbus aircraft.

Should foreign carriers withdraw from the russian market, local airlines would be unable to replace them. They lack both the necessary fleet and the legal capacity to do so, due to the risks of aircraft being seized and the imposition of secondary sanctions against airport services.

Source: NV