Even though the skies around Russia are getting more restricted, there are still several ways to leave Moscow by air if you find yourself stuck in the Russian Federation.
Guide: Escape Moscow – Flight Options
With European and Canadian airspace in lockdown, nonstop service between Russia and Europe has stopped on European and Russian carriers. Aeroflot has also suspended his service in the United States (at least until March 2, 2022) blaming the closure of Canadian airspace. It also suspended flights to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. An insider tells live and fly that an official US government ban on Aeroflot should come in, with the US simply giving US citizens extra days to leave.
UPDATE: The United States has banned all Russian airlines from its airspace.
With many foreign nationals still in Russia and perhaps thinking about departure options, there are still several options as we enter March 2022 from Moscow’s three main airports.
Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO)
- Tel Aviv (TLV)
- Istanbul (IST)
- Antalya (AYT)
- Dubai (DXB)
- Bangkok (BKK)
- Doha (DOH)
- Almaty (ALA)
- Beirut (BEY)
- Nur-Sultan (NQZ)
- Cairo (CAI)
- Baku (GYD)
- Yerevan (EVN)
- Abu Dhabi (AUH)
- Belgrade (BEG)
- Male (MLE)
Service to smaller airports in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan also works, but I haven’t included them in the list due to lack of connection options.
Moscow Vnukovo (VKO)
- Istanbul (IST)
- Yervean (EVN)
- Abu Dhabi (AUH)
- Dubai (DXB)
- Baku (GYD)
There are also a number of Azul Air charters operating from VKO, but these are not scheduled services.
Moscow Domodedovo (DME)
- Bahrain (BAH)
- Cairo (CAI)
- Dubai (DXB)
- Colombo (CMB)
- Tel Aviv (TLV)
With the Russian Ruble plummeting, if you can prepay in Russian currency, you can also get the best flight deal.
As pressure mounts on airlines to stand with Ukraine and cut ties with Russia, we could see more of those routes plummet. However, the Gulf countries and Turkey have given no indication that flights will be suspended, so I would not expect any of these routes to be canceled even if the conflict continues.
Emirates sees benefit in being a mainline to and from Russia and uses an A380-800 for its service to Moscow.
Land borders are not sealed, so you also have the option of entering Finland by ferry or train from St. Petersburg.
CONCLUSION
If you find yourself stuck in Russia, there are still plenty of ways to leave the country by air. I’ve focused on Moscow here, but St. Petersburg and other airports also have limited international service. It’s not too late to leave, even with flights to Europe and North America now largely closed.
photo: Turkish Airlines
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