Russian authorities announced yesterday that the ban on flights from the UK would remain in place for at least another month. In order to keep potential cases of the British variant of coronavirus out, the suspension has been extended to midnight, April 16th.
Lowest numbers in Russia since October
On Tuesday, the Russian coronavirus task force said it is extending its ban on flights from the United Kingdom. The ban was first introduced on December 22nd as a response to the new, more infectious variant of the virus prevalent across the UK.
"The task force for preventing the importation and spread of infections of the novel coronavirus in Russia has decided to extend the suspension of air traffic with the United Kingdom. To ensure the protection of public health, the restrictions have been extended to 23 hours 59 minutes on April 16, 2021," a statement from the task force read as reported by TASS.
Russia counted another 28 cases of the 'British variant' on Tuesday. Meanwhile, overall daily new cases dropped to 8,998. This is the lowest figure since October last year. However, cases - thus far numbering only two - of the South African strain were also discovered for the first time within the country's borders.
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Monitoring 'tense' situation in Europe
While much of Europe remains in various stages of lockdown - even Sweden has tightened its restrictions - Russia has now lifted most of its coronavirus measures. Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, when commenting on the decision to extend the UK ban, said in a separate interview with the news agency that,
"In Europe, the situation is much tenser. Surely this is taken into account by our task force when making such decisions [on the resumption of air traffic]," further adding that transport agencies were keeping a close eye on the evolving situation.
The entry ban for nearly all foreign nationals to Russia also remains in place, with a few exceptions. The ban does not apply to airline crew members, although it is unclear what kind of restraints are placed upon their movements while in the country.
Meanwhile, Russian air travel is seeing a positive trend for the second month in a row. The figures are driven by domestic demand, which was down by only 8.7% in February compared to the same month last year.
More UK restrictions and suspensions
Other countries that have banned flights from the UK are Albania, Austria (until March 21st), The Netherlands, Portugal, Bolivia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Jordan, South Korea, Vietnam, Morocco, Tunisia, Jamaica (March 22nd). Other countries, such as Israel and Myanmar, have closed their borders to scheduled international services altogether.
Meanwhile, along with strict entry and quarantine requirements, the UK has its own 'red list'. Effective this Friday, the country is adding Qatar to the list, causing a significant blow to long-distance travelers transferring with the Gulf-nation flag-carrier. However, Scotland, which has its own regulations, has not added Qatar to its list, meaning that travelers may still make use of the Doha to Edinburgh connection.