Crimea head, Rosaviatsia director discuss restoring flights to peninsula

SIMFEROPOL. July 7 (Interfax) - Crimea head Sergei Aksyonov has met with the director of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) to discuss the prospects of resuming flights to the peninsula.

"At the meeting with Rosaviatsia director Dmitry Yadrov, we discussed the future restoration of the aviation link and a number of issues concerning the material and technical state of Simferopol's Aivazovsky International Airport," Aksyonov said on Telegram on Monday.

Without flights, Crimea is losing a certain share of tourists, he said. Despite its temporary closure, the airport is undergoing all necessary maintenance checks, he said.

"We are ready to reopen the airport immediately upon receipt of such an order from President Vladimir Putin," Aksyonov said.

There have been no flights to and from the airport since February 24, 2022. In 2021, it serviced 6.8 million people, 27% of tourists in Crimea arrived by plane.

From 2014 to 2021, the airport only serviced domestic flights because of sanctions imposed on Crimea after it became part of Russia.