Aeroflot to increase number of flights to Guangzhou, China in February

MOSCOW. Jan 24 (Interfax) - Aeroflot plans to increase the frequency of Moscow-Guangzhou flights to three times per week beginning on February 15, operating wide-body Boeing 777s, the Russian flagship air carrier said in a statement.

According to Aeroflot's website, the air carrier currently operates flights to Guangzhou once per week, and the airline operates flights once per week to Beijing and Chengdu.

As reported in May last year, China's aviation authorities closed their airspace to Russian carriers operating Boeing and Airbus aircraft. The ban applied to dual-registered aircraft that did not meet international requirements, an Interfax source explained.

Aeroflot owns most of its Boeing 777s, which have only Russian registration. Following the introduction of Western sanctions against Russia, the company bought the aircraft from the foreign lessors under financial leasing agreements, and then removed them from foreign registries.