MOSCOW, May 12 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s biggest airline Aeroflot has decided to prolong its freeze on flights bound for Ukraine’s Donetsk and Kharkiv until May 31, a source with the company told RIA Novosti Monday.
It is the third time the Russian flagship air carrier has extended the suspension to the restive Ukrainian cities, in place since May 2. The latest deadline expired on Monday.
The source explained the freeze was linked to the Ukrainian aviation authority’s newest memorandum sent to Aeroflot and other airlines flying to Donetsk and Kharkiv. The message said Russian airlines were to put off these flights “until further notice,” meaning there could be further cancellations.
The company has not released any official comments, but the source said that demands for tickets to Donetsk and Kharkiv had dropped sharply.
On May 6, Aeroflot announced it temporarily suspended flights to and from the Donetsk airport, following the decision of Ukraine’s aviation authority to prohibit the take-off and landing of all aircraft at the airfield. Kiev later lifted the ban.
Earlier, Russia’s Aeroflot and Transaero promised to reimburse the cost of tickets to Donetsk and Kharkiv in full.
