MOSCOW, August 7 (RIA Novosti) – Possible transit flights ban for European airlines would not have any effect on Russian tourism industry, Oleg Safonov, the acting head of the Russian Federal Tourism Agency, said Thursday.
“There will be no negative consequences for our tourism industry,” the official said.
The altered air traffic regulations would most likely increase ticket prices for companies that deal with European air carriers, Safronov added.
“Transit flights across our country are the shortest and the most effective and efficient ones from an economic point of view for airlines carrying out flights from Western Europe to South-East Asia,” the official said.
Earlier on Thursday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia decided to ban all transit flights across the country for Ukrainian carriers and may change entry and exit points in its airspace for European and American flights.
The announcement was made as a response to Western sanctions. A subsidiary of state-owned Aeroflot, Dobrolet was included on the EU blacklist unveiled on July 30 among other Russian entities targeted by sanctions over the country’s alleged role in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis. The European Union said Dobrolet carried out flights to Crimea, facilitating the former Ukrainian region’s integration with Russia.
