The closure of airspace and the risk of sanctioned seizures of aircraft have led Russian tour operators to cancel flights even to countries that have not closed. First of all, we are talking about the Caribbean destinations – the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba and Venezuela. Flights to these countries are canceled by tour operators at least until the end of March.
It will be recalled that the tour operator Annex Tour has already announced the withdrawal of flight programs in the Caribbean on Monday. His example is followed by others. For example, on the evening of February 27, Aeroflot canceled flights to the United States and Mexico, and flights to Havana were unavailable until the end of March. Nordwind and Royal Flight are also planning to cancel flights, leaving only export flights. Similarly, booking Caribbean tours in the tour operator’s booking system is closed. The closure will last at least until the end of March.
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Pegasus and its affiliated airlines followed the Annex. “Flights of NordWind and Pegas Fly in these directions have been canceled. “Tours departing until March 28, 2022 to the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela will be canceled,” Pegasus said. Experts of the tour operator also added that this decision is temporary, at the moment the restrictions apply from 28.02.2022 to 28.03.2022.
The reason, according to experts, is the complete closure of Russian flights in Europe’s airspace, as well as Canada, which has made transatlantic flights of Russian companies virtually impossible and “fantastically expensive.”
In addition, in some countries there have been scandals with aircraft delays at the request of the lessor. In Mexico, for example, this happened with the liner Nordwind. What is particularly alarming – a similar incident occurred at the airport still open to Russian tourists in Istanbul: the Turkish aviation authorities have banned the departure of the low-cost carrier “Victory” at the request of the lessor. The liner is owned by an Irish airline, and the Russian low-cost carrier leased it. The owner decided to recall this aircraft and two other Victory aircraft.
Read more about blocking the airspace for Russian aviation in the article “The ring is shrinking: 21 countries have already closed the entrance to Russian tourists.”