Ban for ban: The German Ministry of Transport did not allow Aeroflot and S7 airlines to make several flights to Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt am Main on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Berlin explained this step by the “principle of mutual practice”: earlier several flights of Lufthansa did not receive permission to enter Russian airspace through new corridors, bypassing Belarus. Since the bilateral agreement on air services was suspended for the duration of the pandemic, now flights are carried out precisely on the basis of the “principle of reciprocity.”
Berlin stressed that they will not approve the arrival of Russian flights until Moscow gives Lufthansa permission to pass corridors bypassing Belarus.
This is not the first time that the Russian aviation authorities have refused or delayed such a permit to foreign airlines. Moscow explained this by the sharply increased volume of requests for new air corridors.