CHISINAU (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2022) Moldovan national air carrier, Air Moldova, has stopped selling flight tickets to Moscow following the prohibition issued by the civil aviation authority, a company official, Yana Zidu, told Sputnik on Sunday.
On Friday, Air Moldova announced that it would resume direct flights from Chisinau to Moscow from October 1 and launched the sale of tickets for these flights later in the day. The next day, the civil aviation authority blocked this decision, the country's deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said, adding that flights between Moscow and Chisinau were prohibited "to ensure aviation security."
"The civil aviation authority issued an operational directive, which bars national carriers from operating flights in Russian airspace. Thereby, Air Moldova airline will not be able to operate its previously announced flights between Chisinau and Moscow, which were to start from October 1. Sales of tickets to Moscow have been discontinued," Zidu said.
The company reserves the right to challenge this ban in court, if the civil aviation authority fails to produce the documents cited in the directive, Zidu noted.
The official also said that customers who have already purchased tickets for the canceled flights should contact Air Moldova support team to request a refund.
Moldova closed its airspace the day after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In March, the authorities allowed the opening of an air corridor from Chisinau airport to the western border, but the Moldovan sky remained closed in the eastern direction.
