MOSCOW, March 4. /TASS/. The airspace of ten countries in the Middle East was closed since February 28 and more than 250 flights to and from Russia were canceled during that period, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov said at the meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with Cabinet ministers.
"The airspace of ten countries in the Middle East is being closed since February 28. More than 250 flights to and from Russia, the greater portion from the UAE, were canceled over that period," he said.
Organized Russian tourists at the time of the conflict start totaled 23,500 people, including more than 90% in the UAE. The total number of Russian nationals was much higher, the minister added.