Turkish Southwind Airlines helped the Russian sanctioned company Nordwind Airlines to transport passengers.
Turkish airline Southwind Airlines has been banned from flying over EU skies due to a Russian footprint in its management. The ban affected the carrier’s flight program and plans to transport European tourists to Turkish resorts, Avianews reports.
The Turkish airline is banned from taking off and landing at airports in the European Union, as well as flying over the EU in transit. This decision was made on March 28, Aerotelegraph reported.
The EU-level ban was preceded by the Finnish regulator’s refusal to approve Southwind Airlines’ application for Antalya – Helsinki flights. The Finnish transport authority Traficom has come to the conclusion that the Turkish airline and its control are connected to the Russian side.
Southwind Airlines had to cancel flights and reroute. In particular, the Turkish airline canceled flights from Kaliningrad to Antalya. The route from Minsk to Istanbul now passes through Russia, Kazakhstan and Georgia, instead of Hungary and Bulgaria.
Southwind Airlines was created in 2022 to transport tourists of the Russian tour operator Pegas Touristik from Russia to resorts in Turkey. So, to avoid sanctions in the West, where the Russian airline Nordwind Airlines fell, was affiliated with Pegas Touristik. Then some of the Nordwind Airlines aircraft were transferred to the Southwind Airlines fleet.
We remind you that the volume of supplies from Turkey to Russia decreased to 670 million dollars compared to one billion dollars for the same period in 2023. We are talking about a 33% reduction.
Source: korrespondent
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