Airspace changes and airport support amid restrictions

According to TASS, citing an airline source, Russian carriers are expected to operate direct flights to Sochi starting August 30, utilizing a portion of the southern airspace that remains restricted.

One source noted that a formal update would follow on Monday regarding flight plans for the carriers.

The same source described a shortened route that could trim flight times by roughly 30 to 35 minutes once the path is flattened. Authorities may also look at extending this approach to other destinations as conditions permit.

Meanwhile, RBC, quoting an unnamed official, indicated that peak times could require flights to pass over Kazakhstan due to limited routing options available to aircraft.

Earlier reports indicated that authorities were weighing the possibility of allowing civilian flights through a portion of the southern airspace. The decision would likely cut travel time from Vnukovo to Sochi by more than 20 minutes, with a return leg shortened by about 10 minutes.

Tourism portals report that with the opening of airspace, travel times from Moscow or St. Petersburg to popular destinations such as Turkey are expected to shorten in a manner similar to Sochi.

According to a telegram from the Federal Air Transport Agency obtained by Tourdom.ru, planes would be able to transit via Volgograd and Astrakhan provided flight altitude exceeds 10,000 meters. Previously, the route in this segment passed over Kazakhstan.

airspace closure

Since February 24, a portion of Russia’s southern and central airspace has been closed to civilian aircraft because of military operations in Ukraine.

Flight restrictions have impacted the airports at Anapa, Gelendzhik, Simferopol, Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Elista.

Sochi Airport remained operational despite nearby airspace closures. Travel times rose from about two and a half hours to roughly four hours. On August 26, the restriction regime was extended through September 4.

Airport Support

To aid closed airports, authorities previously allocated 3.1 billion rubles, with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin promising an additional 2.5 billion rubles in mid-August. The state also pledged to cover 19.5 billion rubles for refunds to passengers on canceled flights since the military operation began.

The largest funds were directed to Simferopol airport at 436 million rubles, Rostov-on-Don airport at 296.6 million rubles, Krasnodar at 259.2 million rubles, and Anapa at 111.8 million rubles. Other airports received between 4 million and 72.9 million rubles depending on lost passenger traffic.

During the summer season, airports reported a combined loss of more than 8 million passengers. A presentation by the Ministry of Transport, cited by Vedomosti, projected that airlines would lose about 19 million passengers in 2022 due to the south airport closures.

The Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Authority, along with relevant bodies, began preparing a draft resolution to support airports amid sanctions and airspace restrictions. The plan envisions loan support and reimbursement for core operational costs.

However, by the end of July, the Ministry of Finance reportedly did not approve a project proposed by the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Authority to allocate a 10 billion ruble subsidy to airports. A broadcaster suggested the Finance Ministry might view airport reports as less dire and postpone the subsidy.