Russia-Ukraine war: Royal Flight Airlines halts flights from Moscow due to EU sanctions

In retaliation to sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU), Royal Flight airlines has announced to suspend all its flights from Russia amid the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. However, in a statement released on the website, the air carrier informed that starting from March 5, the airline will continue exportation of tourists from foreign airports. This comes after a Russian state-owned airline, Aeroflot, temporarily discontinued all international flights in response to sweeping travel restrictions for all Russian air service providers.

"We regret to inform you that due to restrictive measures, introduced by the European Union, air transportation of passengers from Russia is stopped starting from 00:00 LT 05.03.22y. ROYAL FLIGHT Airlines continues the exportation of its tourists from foreign airports," the airline company informed through a statement on its website.

Aeroflot subsidiaries Aurora and Rossiya have also announced a suspension of flights amid EU sanctions. However, Aeroflot stated that it will allow outbound flights to the Belarusian capital, Minsk, New York Times reported. On Tuesday, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsiya issued a recommendation, asking Russians to avoid non-official trips to foreign countries. In addition, the airlines asked Russian planes registered in a foreign jurisdiction to discontinue all flights abroad, fearing that the aircraft could be seized by foreign governments.

The developments come following the EU's decision to completely block airspace to all Russian planes last Sunday. The ban covers inbound and outbound commercial and private planes. In a reciprocal move, Russia too banned flights from 36 countries.

Travel sanctions on Russia impact airline industry

Russia's domestic air traffic in 2021 experienced a robust recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic, as per International Air Transport Association. However, recently imposed travel bans by Western nations have left a sweeping impact on the country's aviation industry in the last two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24 announced an "unprovoked" invasion of Ukraine. On the negative side, the measures have also left Western airline companies under a fix as they struggle to recover hundreds of planes leased to Russian carriers. Experts suggest that the only hope for such nations would be if Russian airlines deliver the carriers to neutral nations, although that seemed far with Russia's reciprocal bans announced on Saturday. As per the International Bureau of Aviation (IBA), an aviation consulting firm, nearly 600 foreign-owned planes are in Russia, which is estimated at around $12 billion.

The developments come as Russian armed forces on Saturday took control of Kherson. On Sunday, the swelling war entered into its 11th day, with over 350 killed and another 1,600 injured in embattled Ukraine. Meanwhile, peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations are underway and are expected to meet for the third round in the coming days.

(Image: @Planesonearth/Twitter/AP)