Vedomosti reported a sharp demand for business trips abroad

Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine in Russia, the demand for foreign trips to open destinations has increased. This is reported by Vedomosti with reference to members of the Union of Business Travel Agencies.

A representative of the Aeroclub company said that sales of air tickets to other countries from February 24 to March 15 increased by 64% compared to the beginning of February and by 7.5 times compared to the same period in 2021, with the peak falling on March 5, when the Federal Air Transport Agency recommended domestic airlines to suspend foreign flights. According to the interlocutor of the publication, about 65% of tickets were purchased in one direction.

A Vipservice representative said that customers became almost six times more likely (from 8.2 to 46%) compared to last year to be interested in international flights.

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation in Ukraine. The head of the Russian Defense Ministry, General of the Army Sergei Shoigu, said that the main task of this operation is to protect Russia from a military threat from Western countries that “are trying to use the Ukrainian people in the fight against our country.” In response to this decision, sanctions began to be imposed on Russia. In particular, banks fell under them. In addition, the European Union, the United States and other countries have closed the sky for Russian airlines.

Aeroflot has suspended international flights since March 8 “due to the occurrence of additional circumstances that impede the operation of flights.”