UPDATE 2: Russia to start lifting international flights ban Jul 15

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MOSCOW, Jul 10 (PRIME) -- The Russian government will start lifting restrictions imposed on international flights from July 15, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said in a news briefing on Friday.

“Regarding the date of possible relaunch of air travel. We suggest the date of July 15, 2020 for that,” she said.

The Transport Ministry and the Federal Air Transport Agency will report to the government on a weekly basis on the negotiations with other countries, while the government will evaluate the epidemiologic situation in other countries, she said.

Epidemiologists have defined criteria for Russia to restart air cooperation with any country.

“The first criterion is similar to what other countries have. It is a criterion connected to the number of coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. We suppose that it should be used in Russia at the level of 40,000 cases per 100,000 people. … And we calculate the figure of 40,000 cases per 100,000 people for the past 14 days, or for duration of the known incubation period,” she said.

The second criterion is that in a country with which air travel is to be restored, the daily increase of the coronavirus cases should not exceed 1% of the population for the past 14 days, she said.

In order to come to Russia, foreigners should pass a laboratory test for the coronavirus no earlier than in three days before coming to the country, and provide the documents to the authorities. This will allow them to avoid a 14-day quarantine. Russians will be allowed to pass a similar test in the country to avoid the quarantine, she said.

Still, if a Russian who comes back via a return flight hasn’t passed the test three days before, he will be put into a 14-day quarantine or into an observation facility until he passes the test, she said.

Resumption of air travel should be done on the principle of reciprocity. The Russian aviation authorities should draft a list of countries with which the government should negotiate relaunches of air travel, Golikova said.

Anna Zakharenkova, director for PR of Sheremetyevo International Airport, told PRIME that the airport was ready for resumption of international flights Oksana Sokolova, press secretary of Vnukovo International Airport, said that the airport had been ready for that since June 1. A spokesperson for Domodedovo International Airport told PRIME that the airport had notified the Federal Air Transport Agency that it was ready for international flights.

The agency said in a statement it had already sent proposals on the relaunch of air travel to some countries, and had received responses from the countries interested in restarting air travel. The agency has developed a template for a gradual relaunch of flights to other countries, and it is implementing an array of measures to ensure that, the authority said.

At the first stage, Russia will resume flights to the countries with the most favorable sanitary and epidemiologic situations, the agency added.

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