Russia resumed regular domestic passenger flights to the southern city of Krasnodar on Wednesday, fully reopening a key regional airport that was closed for more than three years due to security concerns linked to the war in Ukraine.
A fully loaded 183-seat Airbus A321 from Moscow operated by Russian flag carrier Aeroflot landed in the city of more than 1.5 million people after a flight of about 3-1/2 hours.
That was about 90 minutes longer than flights before the war, as planes now avoid the airspace near the front line in Ukraine and fly via Volgograd and the Black Sea coast.
Russia closed 11 major airports in its southern and western regions, including those in Kursk, Simferopol and Rostov-on-Don, following the start of its military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
Krasnodar, almost 1,200 km (750 miles) from Moscow, is the third of these airports to reopen, following Elista in May 2024 and Gelendzhik in July 2025.
Alexey Buyevich, deputy head of Russia's civil aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya, said the decision to resume flights was based on an evaluation of the risks.
"We have a working group at Rosaviatsiya that considered all risks, examined flight safety issues and also established safe flight routes," he said, adding that the final decision was made by the Transport Ministry.
Aeroflot said it will operate up to five flights a day from Moscow, as well as services from six other Russian cities, including Saint-Petersburg.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Oslo for talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Norwegian government has said. U.S. Presi...
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said regional issues should be res...
A Kenyan court has convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants of murder over the deaths of 191 p...
U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for continuing to target Russia's energy infrastructure, while Russian strikes on Kyiv overnight killed at least one person and damaged a metro station.
The day after waiving sanctions and tariffs related to Russian exports, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday he has yet to announce a final decision on the matter as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said officials want more time to evaluate the situation.
A Saudi AH-6i helicopter crashed in the Najran region of Saudi Arabia due to a technical malfunction, killing its two crew members, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki said in a statement on Sunday.
French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the violence, looting and vandalism that erupted during cost-of-living protests across France. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu held crisis talks on Monday, calling for partial curfews and raising the possibility of a state of emergency.
An oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said late Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is arriving in Oslo for talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Norwegian government has said. U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is also expected in the Norwegian capital this week for talks with Zelenskyy and European officials.
A Kenyan court has convicted cult leader Paul Mackenzie and 28 co-defendants of murder over the deaths of 191 people, including 190 children, in a case that shocked the world and exposed one of the deadliest cult-related tragedies in recent memory.
Canada’s oil-rich province of Alberta voted to remain part of the country in a non-binding referendum on Monday, 19 October, CBC News reported, delivering a much-needed victory for Prime Minister Mark Carney amid an ongoing trade war with the United States.
The U.S. and five Central Asian nations have held high-level talks in Samarkand, focusing on trade, investment and regional security as Washington seeks to strengthen its presence in the strategically important region.
French authorities imposed local curfews in parts of Paris, Lille and Nice on Monday after a weekend of riots and looting linked to nationwide anti-government protests, as the government faced mounting criticism over security failures.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment