Russia Asks United States To Consider Restoring Direct Flights

It's no secret that tensions between Russia and much of the western world have risen in the past few years. Following the nation's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, airlines based in countries considered Ukraine's allies suspended nonstop services to Russia.

Additionally, these countries closed their airspace to Russian aircraft, essentially isolating Russia as it continued to pursue conflict with Ukraine.

Now, it seems things might be changing. Russia published a press release detailing the meeting it had between some of its diplomats and their US counterparts.

The negotiations, which took place in Istanbul, Turkey, included Russia making a case to the United States to reopen its airspace to Russian aircraft.

This would better connect Russian passengers with other parts of the world, since its existing international network is notably lacking compared to European peers.

Russia wants to restore direct flights to the United States

On Friday, February 28th, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it had asked the United States to open its airspace to Russian aircraft, thus allowing nonstop service between the two countries to be restored.

Prior to Russia's conflict with Ukraine, which caused the United States and other western nations to close its airspace to Russian aircraft, the two countries were connected by a limited number of routes:

• Washington Dulles to Moscow
• New York JFK to Moscow
• Los Angeles to Moscow
• Miami to Moscow

All of these services were operated by Aeroflot , Russia's state-owned airline. The carrier has a hub at Moscow Airport, though the current conflict has forced the airline to reevaluate its strategy.

With so many countries armed with sanctions against Russia, the carrier has had to turn its attention to flying domestic passengers. This, however, also comes with a unique set of challenges.

As part of the many trade restrictions the United States and Europe have with Russia, aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus cannot sell spare parts to Russian airlines.

Given that Aeroflot flies a large fleet of aircraft from both of these suppliers, the airline has to look to alternative channels to get the parts it needs to keep its aircraft flying.

This mainly consists of getting its parts from other countries, including China and the United Arab Emirates.

US and Russian diplomats met to discuss several topics

In Istanbul, Turkey, diplomats from both the United States of America and Russia met to discuss various topics pertaining to trade. Russia claims the two parties worked to overcome "irritants" that have been inherited from previous US presidential administrations.

While very little detail was provided, Russia revealed it requested that the United States reopen its airspace to Russian aircraft.

In the press release published Friday, Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided some details about what discussions focused on:

"The consultations also addressed issues related to Russian diplomatic properties in the United States, with a particular focus on the restitution of six premises unlawfully seized between 2016 and 2018. The necessity of achieving tangible outcomes to foster conditions conducive to improving bilateral relations, in the interests of both nations, was underscored. In particular, the American side was encouraged to consider the restoration of direct air service between the two countries."

It is unclear how the parties will proceed, and if the United States will open up its airspace to Russian aircraft. However, doing so would likely empower other countries to do the same, which might end up helping other airlines beyond Aeroflot.

With Russian airspace currently closed to most European countries, carriers like British Airways and Lufthansa have had to fly around Russia when flying to destinations like China or Japan.

This routing results in higher costs due to more fuel being required for the journey. If the United States eases relations and in turn encourages Russia to open its airspace to other nations, European carriers might be able to take more direct routes to Asian destinations, helping them overcome the competitive disadvantage they have been stuck with for years.