EU: Air Serbia not in violation of Russia sanctions
The European Commission has said that Air Serbia and other non-European Union registered carriers that continue flying to Russia are not in violation of sanctions imposed by the block. In a document clarifying measures imposed onto Russia in the air transport sector, the Commission further explained that insurance companies should continue providing their services to such airlines. “The provision of re/insurance in the context of an international flight in and out of Russia by a non-Russian airline is not covered by the prohibition as it is not for ‘use in Russia’ but part of normal international services provided by the airline. This is also true for the re/insurance of any parts or components for the purpose of conducting repairs to an aircraft, where a non-Russian airline conducts flights into and out of Russia”, the Commission said. It previously noted that while it expects Serbia to align its foreign policy with that of the block, it has no intention of preventing Air Serbia from flying to Russia.
The Serbian carrier has reduced its operations to Russia, while its flights to Moscow and St Petersburg have been subject of sustained hoax bomb threats. The latest such threat came yesterday on its service from the Russian capital to Belgrade while the Airbus A330-200 aircraft was still on the ground in Moscow. The e-mail, which also included death threats against Air Serbia staff, resulted in the inbound flight departing with an over three-hour delay. Other carriers maintaining services to Moscow have also seen a rise in such hoax reports, with Turkish Airline having several of its flights targeted in the last few weeks.
Air Serbia has not commented on its operations to Russia since the war in Ukraine broke out over a year ago. On the other hand, Emirates, which maintains eleven weekly flights from Dubai to Moscow with its Airbus A380 aircraft and six weekly rotations to St Petersburg with the Boeing 777 jet, has said it has no intention of discontinuing operations to the country. Its President, Tim Clark, said this week, “As long as the state, our owner, requires us to fly there, we will continue. We carry humanitarian goods in our holds. We’ve got NGOs traveling in and out of Russia. We’ve got the diplomatic community going in and out of Russia ... so all we’re doing is being an enabler, facilitator, without taking a political position on this for the time being”.
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