Yes, Russian citizens can still take some international flights

In response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S., the European Union and their allies imposed strict sanctions on Russia.

Those sanctions include restrictions on Russian-owned, registered or operated aircraft. The EU and the U.S. have denied all such crafts access to their airspace, and many other countries have followed suit.

That’s left many Russians looking to leave to avoid sanctions, military enlistment to war or the country’s government with few options.

THE QUESTION

Can Russian citizens still take international flights?

THE SOURCES

• U.S. Embassy in Russia
• U.S. State Department
• Government of the United Kingdom
• Emine Dzheppar, first deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine
• Russian state news agency TASS
• Radio Free Europe
• FlightRadar24, data provider for live air traffic worldwide

THE ANSWER

Yes, Russian citizens can still take some international flights — although their options are limited at the moment.

WHAT WE FOUND

Although the bulk of international flights departing Russia have been limited, Russian citizens can fly abroad on the national carriers of a few countries that have not sanctioned Russia and do not require visas for Russians to enter.

On Feb. 27, within the first few days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. Embassy in Russia reported that “an increasing number of airlines are canceling flights into and out of Russia, and numerous countries have closed their airspace to Russian airlines.”

The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency recommended on March 5 that all Russian airlines leasing foreign planes, which constitute the bulk of Russian commercial fleets, avoid international flights for the foreseeable future because of the risk planes could be seized on foreign soil. 

That means Russian citizens have to rely on foreign airlines to take flights out of Russia.

Such routes are limited, but still running, according to FlightRadar, which provides live air traffic details for flights worldwide.

When VERIFY checked FlightRadar on March 22, one flight traveled from Moscow to Yerevan, Armenia and another traveled from Moscow to Doha, Qatar.

The British government says there are no direct flights from Russia to the U.K. or the European Union, but a few commercial airlines are operating indirect flights through the Middle East and Turkey. The U.S. State Department says direct flights are currently operating from Moscow and other major Russian cities to Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Thailand and India, among other destinations.

The State Department says Russian citizens do not need visas to enter the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar or Serbia, nor do they need visas to enter neighboring countries such as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan or Mongolia.

Those countries are popular choices for Russians seeking to leave the country, according to Radio Free Europe, a U.S. government-run news outlet based in Europe. It reports many Russians are going to former Soviet countries that don’t require visas for Russian citizens such as Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. Some Russian citizens are taking direct flights to Turkey, Radio Free Europe says, and wealthier Russians are taking flights to the United Arab Emirates.

Emine Dzheppar, first deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine, said on March 12 that Air Serbia had doubled direct flights from Moscow to twice a day. Serbia is not in the European Union but is a candidate to join.

Russian state news agency TASS reported on March 13 that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic reduced flights from Belgrade to Moscow back to once a day in response to international pressure. 

That daily flight from Moscow to Belgrade can be seen in FlightRadar24’s logs. 

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