MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st August, 2020) First flights after the resumption of air traffic between Russia and foreign countries will be operated by Aeroflot, Pobeda, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines on Saturday, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) said on Friday.
"The first regular flight SU 2130 by Aeroflot on the Moscow - Istanbul route after the restrictions are lifted is scheduled for tomorrow at 07.50 Moscow time [04:50 GMT] from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on a Boeing 777 aircraft. The liner is designed to carry up to 400 passengers. Tomorrow, the carrier has two more scheduled flights on that route," the agency said.
Pobeda will perform one flight on Saturday from Moscow's Vnukovo to Istanbul. At 01.20 Moscow time, first regular flight of Turkish Airlines should arrive at Vnukovo with about 50 passengers from Istanbul. The company plans to start flights to St. Petersburg from 2 August, and to Rostov-on-Don from 3 August.
Turkey's Pegasus Airlines also resumes regular flights. The carrier's schedule includes a flight from Istanbul to Moscow's Domodedovo on August 1.
The schedule of regular flights announced by the airlines for August suggests that Aeroflot will operate up to 35 flights a week on the Moscow - Istanbul route, Turkish Airlines up to 28 flights a week, while Pobeda and Pegasus Airlines 7 flights a week each.
Starting August 10, the number of regular and charter flights to Turkey will significantly increase. Russian airlines S7, Ural Airlines, Royal Flight, Nordwind Airlines, Azur Air, Rossiya and iFly are planning to start flights.
Regular flights to the UK are also resuming. Aeroflot plans two regular flights from Moscow to London on August 1. Departure of flight SU 2578 is scheduled from Sheremetyevo at 09.50 Moscow time [06.50 GMT]. The airline's announced schedule for August includes up to 28 flights per week. British Airways is expected to resume flights on August 2. It plans to operate 2 flights a week from London to Moscow in August.
