For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, Russia opens up air travel to Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar… but not to all passengers yet.
Russia restarted the flights to the capitals of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar as the four countries were seeing fewer than 40 new cases per 100,000 people a day. For now though, only passengers with Russian residence permits can enter the country. People traveling for tourism or business with a temporary visa remain banned.
On January 26, 2021, the Russian Embassy in New Delhi confirmed the lifting of the restrictions in a tweet: “For citizens of Finland, Vietnam, India and Qatar the restrictions on entry to Russia, imposed due to the spread of COVID-19, are being lifted. The corresponding order was signed by Chairman of the Russian Government Mikhail Mishustin on January 25, 2021.”
Starting January 27, 2021, flights to Vietnam (Moscow – Hanoi, twice a week), India (Moscow – Delhi, twice a week), and Qatar (Moscow – Doha, three times a week) resumed. On January 28, 2021, Aeroflot Airlines restarted twice-weekly flights to Helsinki, Finland. Qatar Airways, Air India, Finnair and Vietnam Airlines are expected to announce flights to Moscow soon.
In 2020, Aeroflot Airlines transported 10.2 million passengers, which is a 42.7% drop from the previous year, announced the Aeroflot Group in its operation review on January 26, 2021.
