Russia: a list of countries for the first international flights is being prepared

On Wednesday, July 8, the Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvienko said that Russia is ready for mutual work on opening borders with other countries.

“Russia is not interested in introducing any restrictions and closing the borders ... This is a matter of bilateral relations and the willingness of countries to receive Russian tourists, Russian citizens,” Valentina Matvienko told reporters.

The government has already instructed the relevant departments to create a list of countries with which the resumption of international air traffic is possible in a favorable epidemiological situation.

In addition to the epidemiological situation, the principle of reciprocity will be important. Air communication will be opened only with those countries that will be ready to receive Russians. According to expert estimates, it will take 2-3 weeks to prepare such a list.

At the moment, many things indicate that the first regular international flights will fly from Russia in August. So, on July 7, Sheremetyevo Airport announced the resumption of operation of international terminal D from July 27. Aeroflot's ticket sales for abroad routes are opened from August 1.

At the same time, experts believe that the opening of foreign destinations will be announced in July. In order to load the first flights, airlines need at least 3 weeks of sales.

Most likely, initially the borders with the CIS countries will be opened. This is due to the fact that many citizens of these countries are still waiting for the opportunity to return to their homeland from Russia. If we talk about reciprocity, such countries as Turkey, Croatia, the Dominican Republic, Bulgaria are ready to host Russians.