Seoul (Times Of Ocean)- South Korea’s two major airlines Korean Air and Air Busan announced on Tuesday that their flights to Russia will be suspended until the end of April due to security and safety concerns.
State-owned Korean Air said it is temporarily suspending passenger flights to Moscow and Vladivostok, as well as cargo flights to Europe via Moscow, until the end of next month, according to an airline statement quoted by Yonhap News Agency.
The two airliners are forced to reroute airspace for US, EU destinations. “Furthermore, the decision would also have an impact on its routes to the US, UK, EU, and Canada as it will now have to reroute its flights that will take up to three hours longer,” the airliner added.
South Korean second major airline, Air Busan Co, a subsidiary of Asiana Airlines, has also suspended six flights on the Incheon-Vladivostok route from March 19 to April 15.
“Asiana didn’t operate passenger jets to Russia even before the pandemic hit the airline industry two years ago,” a company spokesperson told the South Korean local media.
The airliner’s freight planes flew across Russian territory, affirmed the spokesman.