Russia, Turkey expand route network

Russian and Turkish aviation authorities have signed an agreement allowing designated airlines to operate up to 7X-weekly Istanbul (Turkey)-Zhukovsky (Russia), Istanbul-Grozny (Russia) and Moscow-Gazipasa (Turkey) services.

Russia’s Ikar Airlines (Pegas Fly) has been designated to operate up to 7X-weekly on Zhukovsky-Istanbul routes.

Gazipasa, the ninth destination in Turkey from Russia, is a second airport at the well-developed Alanya resort. Russia’s Zhukovsky International is a newly opened airport near Moscow, which is not specified as a Moscow destination in the bilateral agreement that regulates flights between Russia and other countries. This means the restrictions that apply to flights from the Russian capital do not apply to Zhukovsky.

The airline network between Russia and Turkey was badly affected at the end of 2015 when Russia banned charter flights to/from Turkey as part of economic sanctions announced Nov. 28, 2015, because of increased tensions between the two countries after the downing of a Russian fighter jet over Syria by Turkey. The ban was lifted in August 2016.

(Polina Montag-Girmes - ATWOnline News)