Aeroflot requests slots for flights from Moscow to Bali from Sept

MOSCOW. July 31 (Interfax) - Aeroflot has requested the required slots for flights from Moscow to Denpasar (Bali, Indonesia) starting from September 2024, the airline said on a Telegram channel.

The company is now awaiting the Indonesian aviation authorities' decision.

"It was preceded by coordinated work and the joint efforts of Aeroflot, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Transport Ministry, the Indonesian embassy in Russia, and the Russia-Indonesia Business Council over the past year," the company said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto said at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Indonesia hails the possible launch of direct flights from Russia to Bali.

"We believe that Aeroflot will be able to perform direct flights to Bali. [...] We also support possible direct flights operated by both Aeroflot and other airlines," he said.

The possibility of flights by Russian airlines abroad was restricted after the introduction of Western sanctions in 2022, including due to the risk of the seizure of their foreign-made planes. Such risks are neutralized by the buyout and re-registration of planes from the foreign register to the Russian register. According to Aeroflot's presentation, 185 of the 271 Boeing and Airbus planes possessed by the group have been "cleared" of foreign registration.