ST. PETERSBURG: Russian airlines are ready to fully resume flights to Middle Eastern countries. However, in this matter they are guided, amo...
ST. PETERSBURG: Russian airlines are ready to fully resume flights to Middle Eastern countries. However, in this matter they are guided, among other things, by recommendations from the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development, Russian Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin said in an interview with TASS on the sidelines of SPIEF-2026.
"Airlines are ready for the full-scale resumption of flights to the Middle East. Beginning June 1, Aeroflot resumed flights to Dubai, and from July 1 we are considering operating two flights a day there. Our frequency has increased. But official recommendations from the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development regarding travel to the Middle East are still in effect, so airlines are taking this factor into account as well," he said.
Nikitin added that the route network is reopening gradually and cautiously in order not to create risks to passenger safety. Discussions on resuming flights to the Middle East are underway, but the final decision rests with the airlines themselves. "In principle, we are ready to move forward here, but we leave this decision to the companies," he specified.
The airspace of a number of Middle Eastern countries was closed at the end of February amid an escalation of the conflict in the region. From April 16 to May 15, Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency allowed flights to Israel from 07:00 a.m. to 01:00 a.m. Moscow time. On April 17, Red Wings resumed flights to Tel Aviv.
The Federal Air Transport Agency later lifted its recommendation to suspend ticket sales for flights to the UAE and also removed restrictions on the use of Iranian airspace. In mid-May, the agency’s head Dmitry Yadrov clarified that all restrictions introduced this year concerning flights by Russian airlines to the Middle East had been lifted. Aeroflot began operating flights to Dubai on June 1.
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