Russian Carrier to Suspend Flights due to European sanctions
Sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union have led the Russian state carrier Aeroflot to suspend all flights according to its announcement on Sunday.
The sanctions, announced on Tuesday, said the subsidiary, Dobrolet, “facilitates the integration of the illegally annexed Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation” by initially offering flights exclusively to the annexed peninsula from Moscow.
Dobrolet, which opened with service to Crimea in June, said in a statement that it had suspended the flights because the leasing agreements for its fleet of Boeing aircraft were frozen by the sanctions.
The airline offered sharply discounted tickets to Crimea after Russia’s annexation of the territory from Ukraine, potentially providing a flow of Russian tourists to stimulate the region’s economy.
The airline said in a statement that passengers with tickets between Moscow and the Crimean city of Simferopol would be transferred to another airline.
In addition, a billionaire businessman sanctioned by the United States was quoted as saying he could no longer use his private jet because of the sanctions.
The businessman, Gennady Timchenko, a major shareholder in the No. 2 gas producer in Russia, Novatek, was quoted as telling the Itar-Tass news agency that his Gulfstream had been grounded. Mr. Timchenko, a close associate of President Vladimir V. Putin, said the American-based Gulfstream company had withdrawn technical support for his jet.
Mr. Timchenko was included on an American government list of individuals subject to asset freezes and visa bans after Russia annexed Crimea in March.
Source: NYT
