Russia’s Aeroflot Suspending International Flights

All kinds of countries have added flight bans against Russia, as the world has shrunk for Russia's Aeroflot. The carrier's global route network is about to shrink even further because it hasn't been able to operate many international flights.

Aeroflot suspends international flights March 8, 2022

All international flights will be suspended in the coming days. Specifically:

• Aeroflot’s international flights from Russia will be suspended as of March 6, 2022
• Aeroflot’s international flights to Russia will be suspended as of March 8, 2022

For political purposes that might as well be considered a domestic flight, flights to Belarus will be the only exception. Russia's state aviation authority recommended the change.

Why is Aeroflot suspending international flights?

Aeroflot suspending international flights has nothing to do with airspace closings or the inability to sell tickets. It has to do with the risk of the planes being seized. The European Union has added a ban on leasing aircraft to Russian airlines because of the sanctions against Russia.

Hundreds of jets operated by Russian airlines are at risk of being seized because some of the world's largest aircraft leasing companies are based in the European Union. The decision has been made to only operate planes domestically because Aeroflot is refusing to cooperate with leasing companies. This way aircraft leasing companies can seize the jets at foreign airports.

Aeroflot is flying around domestically at this point. With the Ruble collapsing, I can imagine that Aeroflot wouldn't be able to make lease payments. In 2020, Aeroflot outlined a plan to become a five star airline.

One has to wonder what the long term goal is. The airline hopes that the sanctions will be lifted eventually, so that they can keep flying these jets in the future. One has to wonder what the long term plan is for so much going on right now.

Bottom line

The exception of flights to Belarus will be suspended by March 8, 2022. There is a high risk of that happening if the airline operates internationally, because aircraft leasing companies are trying to seize jets that are operated by Aeroflot. Aeroflot is unlikely to have any issues with its fleet being taken away because it is just keeping these jets in Russia.

What do you think about Aeroflot suspending international flights?