Russia to Resume International Flights Starting August 1, Says Mishustin

Russia will resume international flights starting August 1, as announced by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. The flights will be conducted from the airports of Moscow, Moscow Region, St. Petersburg, and Rostov-on-Don.

Initially, air traffic will only resume with three countries: Great Britain, Turkey (Ankara and Istanbul), and Tanzania. On August 10, flights will take place to Antalya, Bodrum, and Dalaman in Turkey.

The list of countries with which air traffic will be restarted will be confirmed and published soon.

It is important to note that a negative coronavirus test will be required to enter Russia.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced that from July 15, authorities would start gradually lifting restrictions on international flights. Air traffic will resume with those countries where the incidence of coronavirus does not exceed 40 cases per hundred thousand population, and the daily growth rate of infected individuals and the spread rate of COVID-19 in those countries should not exceed 1 percent.

It is worth recalling that, against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, Russia halted regular and charter air services with other countries on March 27. Exceptions included flights for the repatriation of citizens, as well as cargo, postal, sanitary, humanitarian flights, flights for empty planes for technical maintenance, transit flights for refueling (crew rotation), and operations conducted by the Russian government under special decisions.