Aeroflot to resume flights from Moscow to Bali as of Sept 17

MOSCOW. Aug 20 (Interfax) - Aeroflot plans to launch direct flights from Moscow to Denpasar, Bali Island, Indonesia, beginning on September 17, the flagship airline said.

Flights will initially operate twice per week, with a third weekly flight added beginning on October 3. Wide-body Airbus A350 aircraft will fly the route.

Aeroflot Group previously operated flights to Bali four years ago, when the group suspended them in August 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Direct flights between the countries have not resumed since then.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto in July this year announced support for launching flights from Russia to Bali.

"We believe that Aeroflot could operate direct flights to Bali [...] We also support the possibility of not only Aeroflot operating direct flights, but also other airlines," Subianto said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Russian airlines have been limited in the possibility to operate flights abroad following Western sanctions in 2022. This specifically includes the risk of seizure of foreign-manufactured aircraft. Buying out and re-registering airliners from a foreign to a Russian registry mitigates these risks. An Aeroflot presentation indicates that 185 aircraft of the 271 Boeing and Airbus aircraft in the group's fleet have been "cleared" of foreign registration.