Aviators explained why Ukraine closed Russian flights to Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov
Moscow - Kiev, December 1 (PolitNavigator, Mikhail Stamm) - Kommersant sources in the aviation industry say that the Ukrainian side’s decision to ban the largest Russian airlines from flights to Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov may be a “way of pressure” on Moscow to lift the ban on flights of Ukrainian carriers over Russia.
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The publication recalls that on Friday the State Aviation Service of Ukraine banned Aeroflot, Transaero, UTair and UTair-Ukraine from flying to Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk. The ban on flights to Kharkov came into effect on November 29, and on Dnepropetrovsk from December 1. One Ukrainian carrier, Dniproavia, owned by Igor Kolomoisky, was also banned.
Aeroflot received permission from Ukraine to fly to both cities in October and was planning to fly twice a day to Kharkov and once a day to Dnepropetrovsk from today. Since October 11, the company has already been flying twice a day to Odessa. Yesterday Aeroflot explained “To Kommersant”that passengers who bought tickets to Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov will be able to return them. The company could not specify the number of tickets sold.
In addition to Aeroflot, UTair flies to Ukraine - to Kyiv and Lvov, Transaero and Sibir - to Kyiv and Odessa. UTair declined to comment. Transaero reported that the company “has not operated flights to Kharkov and does not intend to.” Flights to Dnepropetrovsk were suspended in the summer, and there are no plans to resume them.
The decision was a response to the measures of the Russian Federation, which banned transit flights of Ukrainian airlines. The publication's industry sources say that Ukraine's current measures could be a “peculiar way of putting pressure” on Russia to lift the ban.
The head of the analytical service “Airport” Oleg Panteleev notes that in 2013, the largest passenger traffic of Russian airlines after Kiev was to Odessa (300 thousand people), Donetsk (180 thousand people), Dnepropetrovsk (80 thousand people) and Kharkov (60 thousand people) . Human). Taking into account the situation in Donetsk, the expert explains, the main flow of passengers between Russia and Ukraine “could just be reoriented to Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkov.”
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