According to the booking system, flights from Moscow to Kiev and Moscow to Odesa departing from October 25 have been tagged “unavailable.”
Earlier in the day a spokesman from Aeroflot confirmed the airlines had been notified by Ukraine’s aviation service that the ban would go into effect on October 25.
Official representatives for some of Russia’s largest airlines – Transaero, Globus and Rossiya – told RIA Novosti they received notification from Ukrainian authorities that they were banned from flying under the International Air Transport Association’s winter flight schedule.
A Rossiya Airlines (the company merged with Aeroflot in 2010) spokesman confirmed having suspended ticket sales for Kiev-bound flights as of late next month, and said current ticket holders would be able to return them without being charged fines.
On September 16, Ukraine announced new wide-ranging sanctions, including the blacklisting of 25 Russian airlines, two of which are now defunct. Last Friday, September 25, the Ukrainian cabinet announced the flight bans would take effect within a month.
Dozens of Russian banks, state television channels, several companies and hundreds of individuals were included in Ukraine’s sanctions list.
Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Saturday two of Ukraine's airlines will fall under Moscow's retaliatory measures immediately after official confirmation of Kiev's decision to close its airspace to Russian commercial airlines.
