Lufthansa to resume flights to Russia

Travel restrictions removed in latest attempt to cool tensions between Germany and Russia

Associated Press

BERLIN — German airline Lufthansa said late Wednesday that it has received the green light from Russia to resume flights there, after being briefly denied permission, which resulted in a reciprocal blocking of flights by Germany.

In a statement, Lufthansa said Russian authorities had issued approval for its flights from Frankfurt to Moscow and St. Petersburg in June.

Lufthansa had been forced to cancel two flights Tuesday and Wednesday after failing to get approval from Russia’s Federal Agency for Air Transport.

“Due to the underlying reciprocal practice, the German Federal Aviation Authority also did not issue any further permits for flights of the Russian carriers as long as the permits were pending on the Russian side,” Germany’s Transport Ministry said in a statement.

The move affected connections operated from Russia by Aeroflot and budget carrier S7.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the green light for Lufthansa would prompt German authorities to issue approval for Russian airlines to resume flights to Germany.

The ministry said “as soon as the FATA approvals for Lufthansa flights are granted by the Russian side, the flights of Russian companies will also be approved.”

 

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