On March 4th, Latvian carrier airBaltic announced that it would be exiting the Russian market "until further notice." This move will result in the cancelation of any and all service to destinations in the country. Even if the carrier wanted to fly to Latvia's eastern neighbor, current airspace bans by Russia's federal aviation authority prevent this activity.

From temporary flight suspension to semi-permanent exit

In the airline's announcement, airBaltic noted that the exit from Russia follows its previous temporary flight suspension. Suspension of flights to Russia initially took place on February 26th, with the airline initially citing the safety and security of its passengers and employees. This first move saw airBaltic cancel all flights to Russia until March 26th.

However, as the situation in Ukraine escalated significantly, the carrier announced on February 28th that it would be extending its flight cancelations until May 2022. Now, the carrier is taking a firmer position as it has no plans to resume service in the near future.

While few of the airline's passengers would be under any illusion that flights would resume in the following weeks, airBaltic's announcement offers its customers more clarity on their reservations. Indeed, in its February 28th statement, the airline invited all affected passengers to check their booking on the airline's webpage for a refund or contact its call center for "other possible changes." This invitation would presumably now be extended to flights scheduled beyond May.

From its Riga hub, the airline had offered service to the main cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Seasonal service was also provided to other Russian destinations.

map-1
Most of airBaltic's operations take place from its Riga hub. The airline also operates from Vilnius (Lithuania) and Tallinn (Estonia). Photo: GCMap.com

No choice for the carrier

As already noted, even if airBaltic wanted to continue service to Russia, current airspace bans would not allow for such activity. Indeed, it was on February 28th that Russia's aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, announced that aircraft from no less than 36 countries would be banned from its airspace- a long list of nations that includes airBaltic's home country of Latvia. Lithuania and Estonia, where airBaltic also has smaller bases, were also included in the ban.

Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.

The move, a retaliatory response to a large package of sanctions and airspace bans imposed by the EU, US, and Canada, has cut Russia off from much of the western world. As a result, getting to and from the country is now a slightly more complicated operation.

airbaltic-aircraft-27
airBaltic wishes to exceed the mark of 2,000 employees by this year. Photo: airBaltic

Getting to Russia from the rest of Europe

Now that airspace bans and service cancelations are in place, getting from Eastern or Central Europe to Russia by air is made slightly more complicated. However, it's not at all impossible.

There are still numerous countries that continue to maintain good relations with Russia, with Serbia being one of the more notable countries. As a result, the country's flag carrier, Air Serbia, continues to operate flights to Russia. Turkey and Belarus also remain off of Russia's airspace ban, which means their national carriers continue to operate service to the country.

Have you been impacted by service suspensions and cancelations? Let us know by leaving a comment.