The situation with the closure of international flights from Russia can lead to a bankruptcy of certain air carriers, First Deputy Minister of Transport and head of the Russian aviation regulator Rosaviatsiya Alexander Neradko said on Tuesday, according to Lenta.ru.
“The decline in revenues of airlines due to international routes closing with concurrent growth of costs in case of the ruble rate drop can lead to huge losses and challenges in operations of civil aviation entities. Bankruptcy risks actually arise, in the first instance for air carriers, and for other organizations,” the official said.
Neradko also said that the new coronavirus infection may affect flight safety because it is not possible to use overseas training centers after the shutdown of the international air service.
“The coronavirus infection can directly affect the flight safety also in view of the impossibility of using services of overseas training centers. It is necessary to prepare promptly for the solution of this task; the delivery of spares will be affected as well. The freight traffic will decline just as the passenger one,” Neradko said.
Russian airlines were forced to limit air traffic due to an outbreak of coronavirus. So, on March 15, it was reported that flag carrier Aeroflot expanded the list of suspended flights to Europe. The restrictions for the coming month, in particular, will affect flights from Moscow to Prague, Frankfurt, Thessaloniki, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Zurich, and Oslo. Prior to this, the number of flights to the cities of South Korea, Vietnam, and Italy was also reduced.
