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Moscow rerouting air traffic as flights between Russia and Ukraine to be cancelled

Ukraine issued notifications to the Russian airlines last week on the cancelation of flights to Ukrainian destinations as of October 25 pending a decision taken by president Poroshenko

NOVO-OGARYOVO, September 30. /TASS/. Russian aviation authorities are rerouting air traffic in connection with the forthcoming cancellation of flights between Russia and Ukraine, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said on Wednesday at a meeting of the cabinet of ministers that was chaired by President Putin.

"On our part, we’re already rerouting these transport flows," he said.

Russian side does not rule out it may lift the ban on flights by Ukrainian airlines after Kiev unbans the flights by Russian airlines.

"Naturally, if they (the Kiev government) lift the ban then we, too, will consider a possibility of letting Ukrainian airlines to our airspace - on the condition this happens prior to October 25," Sokolov said.

Along with this, he refrained from forecasting the impact the whole situation might have on airfares.

Ukraine issued notifications to the Russian airlines last week on the cancelation of flights to Ukrainian destinations as of October 25 pending a decision taken by the National Security and Defense Council and President Petro Poroshenko’s decree.

The Kiev government placed the Russian national flag carrier Aeroflot, the second largest airline Transaero and more than twenty other airlines on its blacklist.

A document published at the presidential website said the flights, cargo transportation and cargo services of the above companies would be banned partially or fully on the territory of Ukraine.

International media quoted Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as saying the airlines with the Russian tricolor aboard had no business to do at Ukrainian airports.

Apart from Aeroflot and Transaero, which recently went over to Aeroflot’s operational management, the blacklist also names of three filial companies of the latter — Rossiya, Donavia, and Orenburg Airlines — S7/Sibir, Urals Airlines, Globus, Vim-Avia, Kogalymavia, Gazpromavia, and Red Wings, all of them found among the top thirty Russian airlines.

Kiev also banned flights by the specialized flight brigade Rossiya, which services top state officials, and the 224th flight detachment of the Defense Ministry.

On September 28, the Transport Ministry issued an instruction to the federal service for civil aviation to send notifications to Ukrainian airlines on termination of their access to Russian airspace as of October 25.