Turkish Southwind cancels flights between Antalya and Kaliningrad after airline banned from flying over Europe

MOSCOW. April 1 (Interfax) - A Turkish Southwind Airlines flight carrying nearly 500 Russian tourists was unable to fly from Sharm el-Sheikh to Moscow on March 29, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development said. The flight was postponed, and the tourists were able to fly to Moscow the next day. The reason was a ban on flights via Europe imposed by the European Union on Southwind Airlines on Friday evening, Turizm Guncel said.

"Brussels announced to EU member states that Southwind Airlines (the official name of Cortex Aviation and Tourism Trade) was prohibited from taking off, flying and landing in Europe in accordance with sanctions regulations," the publication said.

Southwind Airlines is based in the Antalya. The Turkish authorities announced its creation in April 2022 after the introduction of Western sanctions against Russia due to the situation in Ukraine. The company declared it is focused on attracting Russian tourists.

The publication said that Southwind Airlines planned to fly to Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart in Germany. In addition, Heraklion in Greece was included in the program.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) reported that tour operators PEGAS Touristik and Coral Travel would transfer their tourists who were supposed to fly to Egypt last weekend on Southwind Airlines flights to AZUR Air flights.

In addition, ATOR said that the ban requires that Southwind Airlines flights between Antalya and Kaliningrad be cancelled. ATOR also said that PEGAS Touristik customers who bought tours based on these charters would be offered full refunds or flights via Moscow/St. Petersburg.

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