Airlines in Russia have been expanding their international footprint. Whilst limited by sanctions, services to Tanzania, Egypt, and China have been approved.
Per Interfax, Azur Air and Aeroflot have been quite busy getting dozens of weekly flights approved to expand their international revenue takings.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Tanzania, Egypt & China: The Focus for Airlines in Russia…
The report from Interfax states that Aeroflot and Azur Air of Russia have secured permits for scheduled flights to the following destinations:
- Tanzania:
- Moscow-Zanzibar – Seven times per week with Aeroflot.
- Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk, Perm, Ufa, and Chelyabinsk-Zanzibar – Twice weekly with Azur Air.
- China:
- Moscow, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, and Khabarovsk-Sanya – Seven-weekly with Aeroflot.
- Moscow, Krasnoyarsk-Sanya – Same permit but with Rossiya Airlines.
- Egypt:
- Novosibirisk-Hurghada
- Novosibirisk-Sharm El-Sheikh
- Both services with Aeroflot offer up to seven weekly flights.
This represents a significant international expansion from airlines in Russia, with Aeroflot & Azur Air leading the charge in that.
Are Sanctions Working?
There is the question of whether sanctions are working in terms of preventing airlines in Russia from traveling internationally to the likes of China, Egypt & Tanzania.
However, if you look at the geopolitical intricacies of this, these international services are likely to be as a result of political support to the major superpowers, so connectivity is rewarded.
For example, back in April 2023, an article from The Washington Post stated that leaked U.S documents highlighted that Egypt wanted to secretly supply rockets to Russia in order “to avoid problems with the West” by doing so quietly.
Over the last few months, the country has also deepened ties with China, with “new milestones” being made in areas such as bilateral trade, as per The Guardian.
Finally, as for Tanzania, trade relations between the two sides are strengthening, with its Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa visiting Moscow last week, as per allAfrica.com.
What remains clear is that we are beginning to see the rewards that the likes of Tanzania, China & Egypt are receiving as a result of its political support to Russia.
Whilst indirect, it will be interesting to see what other international routes are launched as a result of closer ties to Moscow.
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