BERLIN, June 2. /TASS/. Lufthansa reports that Russian aviation authorities have granted permits to the airline to conduct flights to Russia in June, the first plane is expected to take off already on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the airline told TASS.
"All the necessary permits to operate flights in June were received from Russian authorities," the spokesperson said, adding that the first plane would travel to Russia on Wednesday evening.
Earlier, spokesperson for the German Transport Ministry Simone Nieke told TASS that flights from Germany to Russia and back were cancelled because Russia’s aviation transport authority did not timely provide flight permits to German airlines in June, prompting the German aviation authorities to cancel Russian flights based on the principle of reciprocity.
The German ministry explained, "since the Russian side unilaterally suspended bilateral agreements on air travel in March 2020 in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the air travel between Germany and Russia were allowed on a reduced basis and partially on a monthly charter basis and under the principle of reciprocity."
Earlier, Lufthansa cancelled its flights to Moscow (LH1444/1445) and St. Petersburg (LH1436/1437) and back scheduled for Wednesday because the airline did not have relevant permits, Lufthansa told TASS. The airline did not specify what agencies or countries were to blame. The Tourdom portal pointed out that Aeroflot cancelled two flights to Germany, to Frankfurt and Hamburg, on June 1. Moreover, the German aviation authorities did not clear S7 to operate two cargo and passenger flights on June 1.