Russia resumes domestic flights to southern city of Krasnodar for first time in three years | Latest Travel News
MOSCOW (GWN) -Russia resumed common domestic passenger flights to the southern city of Krasnodar on Wednesday, absolutely reopening a key regional airport that was closed for more than three years due to security issues linked to the conflict in Ukraine.
A completely loaded 183-seat Airbus A321 from Moscow operated by Russian flag service Aeroflot landed in the city of over 1.5 million people after a flight of about 3-1/2 hours.
That was about 90 minutes longer than flights before the conflict, as planes now keep away from the airspace close to the entrance line in Ukraine and fly via Volgograd and the Black Sea coast.
Russia closed 11 major airports in its southern and western areas, including those in Kursk, Simferopol and Rostov-on-Don, following the start of its army marketing campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
Krasnodar, virtually 1,200 km (750 miles) from Moscow, is the third of these airports to reopen, following Elista in May 2024 and Gelendzhik in July 2025.
Alexey Buyevich, deputy head of Russia’s civil aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya, said the choice to resume flights was based on an analysis of the dangers.
“We have a working group at Rosaviatsiya that considered all risks, examined flight safety issues and also established safe flight routes,” he said, including that the ultimate resolution was made by the Transport Ministry.
Aeroflot said it can operate up to 5 flights a day from Moscow, as nicely as companies from six other Russian cities, including Saint-Petersburg.
“We didn’t believe it could happen,” said Maya Tikhomirova, a passenger on Wednesday’s flight who recurrently travels between Moscow and Krasnodar. “It’s the first time in three years we got here so easily.”
Dmitry Lokaychuk, a pilot who flew the airplane to Krasnodar, said the route had modified considerably due to airspace restrictions, but “thankfully, we found ways to launch flights again”.
Russia’s aviation sector is displaying indicators of recovery after a sharp decline in worldwide visitors due to Western sanctions and airspace restrictions.
(Reporting by GWNWriting by Gleb StolyarovEditing by Frances Kerry)
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