RUSSIA: Aeroflot To Commence Moscow To Dublin Flights

Aeroflot, the Russian state-controlled airline, is to launch a direct flight from Moscow to Dublin even as Ireland’s relations with the Kremlin chill following the expulsion of one of their diplomats.

A source at the flagship Russian carrier said a decision had been taken in Moscow to proceed with a direct flight although the company has yet to decide when it will commence and its frequency.

Aeroflot, which is controlled by the Kremlin, has an almost 50 per cent share of the Russia’s domestic market.

A direct flight to Dublin could lead to an acceleration in trade and tourism between the two countries.

Industry sources were unable to say whether the scandal over the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and the subsequent diplomatic fallout would affect the timing of the launch.

However, there is confidence that it will not be derailed by the current tensions.

A delegation from the Dublin Airport met senior Aeroflot management in Moscow late last year to seal the deal, and an Irish Government source indicated that an announcement on a flight would be made very soon.

Alexander Bogachev, former head of procurement for Aeroflot, is understood currently to be helping Enterprise Ireland-backed companies win tenders with major airlines.

And GTLK Europe, the Kremlin’s leasing arm in Dublin, has a portfolio of $1.5 billion in assets based out of Ireland and could be tapped to provide Aeroflot with the necessary aircraft .

GTLK, which has raised $1 billion in financing in Ireland over the past two years, says Aeroflot is its biggest client.

Irish government agencies have been lobbying hard in recent years to secure a direct flight to Moscow and will be hoping it helps a recent resurgence in trade with Russia, which was badly hit by sanctions over the Kremlin’s interference in the Ukraine conflict.

The increased focus on Russia appears to be paying off, with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade estimating the value of Irish exports to Russia at €500 million last year, an increase of almost 40 per cent.

The direct link will make it easier for Irish investors to see for themselves that Russia is a place where they are welcomed and can make money, provided they don’t check in any political bias with their luggage, said Chris Weafer, the founder of Moscow consultancy Macro Advisory.

Dublin Airport is always in talks with potential new airline customers about launching new routes to and from Dublin, however we never comment on whether or not we are in discussions with a specific airline, said Paul O’Kane, a Dublin Airport spokesman.

Apart from Valletta in Malta, Dublin is the only capital in the European Union not served by a regular direct flight from Moscow.

Aeroflot previously used Shannon as stopover to the US and the hope in Government circles is that an Irish airport can once again become a Russian aviation hub.

In 1978, Aer Rianta approached Aeroflot with a proposal to store Soviet Aviation Fuel at Shannon for use on the Soviet airline’s transatlantic services.

By the early 1980s, more than a thousand Aeroflot flights a year were clocked through Shannon as the Russian carrier routed other transit flights via Ireland.

Aer Rianta’s co-operation with Aeroflot led to the opening of a string of duty-free shops in airports in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Irish investors were among the pioneers during Russia’s new era of perestroika in the 1990s.

Aer Rianta forged the way by opening duty-free shops, bars and hotels in Moscow through a joint venture with the Russian airline Aeroflot.

Many small to medium sized enterprises, involved in everything from hairdressing to butchering, followed to take a chance in what they called the Wild East.

The refuelling at Shannon ended after Aeroflot acquired longer-range aircraft, while the 1998 rouble crash and default by the Russian government forced most of the Irish community to abandon Moscow.

S7, the privately-owned Russian airline, started flights to Dublin in 2008 but scaled back after the economic crisis. The carrier only schedules weekly flights now during summer months.

Ryanair was granted permission by Rosaviatsia, Russia’s federal air transport agency, in 2013 to fly but never exercised the right.

Tourism chiefs will be hoping the start of Aeroflot flights will lead to a bonanza in revenues from Russians, many of whom have fond association with Ireland

Russians have a particular affinity with Ireland, especially since Aer Rianta ran the first foreign currency and the first airport duty free shops.

An Irish bar, the Shamrock on New Arbat, was the first foreign bar to open in Moscow, said Weafer, who has been based in Moscow for 20 years.

If attendance at the St Patrick’s Day parade is a good guide with plenty of Russians dressed in green the new air link should bring a lot of Russians curious about the country they have adopted so fondly at home.

The Russian carrier, which says its classic Soviet emblem of a winged hammer and sickle now represents a smile has undergone a transformation in recent years.

Its fleet is among the youngest in Europe, its business class is considered top-notch, and it has sent its flight attendants back to school to learn to smile.

The company has also been a leading sponsor of Manchester United and the team’s official carrier since 2013.

In April last year, Aeroflot was named number one Business Class globally by TripAdvisor, the travel planning and booking site.

That gong came just after Brand Finance, the business valuation and strategy consultancy, named Aeroflot the world’s strongest airline brand.


Tourism Observer

UNITED KINGDOM: Russian Plane Searched In London, A Blatant Provocation Says Russia

The search was reported on Friday afternoon. The Airbus returned to Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow in the early hours of Saturday after completing a round trip.

Today, we have witnessed another blatant provocation by the British authorities, the Russian Embassy in London said in a statement. This kind of event is extraordinary.

Confusion arose over who did the search. UK police were involved, but the London’s Metropolitan Police denied a role on Twitter.

Russian diplomatic mission later said the plane had been boarded by border force and customs officers, who ordered the crew off in violation of existing rules.

After long talks conducted by an Embassy officer the captain of the plane was allowed to stay, according to the mission.

Russia’s flagship air carrier Aeroflot described the search as a violation of the world practice of carrying out such inspections. It said UK authorities had forced the crew off and isolated the captain in the pilot’s cabin.

After the search was over, the British officers refused to provide any written document that would specify the reasons for their actions, their legal foundation and their outcome, the Russian Embassy said.

The Embassy tried to contact the UK Foreign Office to clarify the incident and inappropriate behavior of British officials but without success.

It then sent a diplomatic note demanding explanations.

The plane’s pilot, who spoke to Russian media shortly after landing in Moscow on Saturday morning, said British officers were looking for illegal items.

Several people turned up with a dog and told us they needed to search the aircraft for items prohibited for carriage by air, Vitaly Mitrofanov told Rossiya 24 television channel.

The pilot said he stayed in the cabin while the officers were on board and was unaware of what they were doing most of the time. This was against common rules that require crew to accompany inspectors.

I wasn’t allowed to see what they were doing. Under our rules, an inspector is to be accompanied by crew members, Mitrofanov said. “

We agreed to this after consulting the consul and air security so that we could proceed with the flight.

The Russian Embassy blamed the incident on UK’s overall hostility toward Russia following a spat over a former spy’s poisoning.

We will carefully analyse what has happened.

At this moment, we have no other explanation but that the incident at Heathrow is in one way or another connected with the hostile policy that the UK government is conducting with regard to Russia, the statement read.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested that the search was ordered by UK authorities to cover up for their lack of progress in the poisoning probe.

Yulia Skripal
Russia has demanded proof of its guilt in a murder attempt at Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

We cannot rule out this being another provocation by the UK authorities that they need in order to save, by all means, their truly tarnished reputation in connection to the so-called Skripal case, Zakharova said.

Ties between Russia and the United Kingdom soured after a former Russian spy and his daughter were found slumped on a park bench in Salisbury on March 4 with symptoms of poisoning.

London blamed Moscow for the suspected nerve gas attack and expelled 23 Russian diplomats.

Russia denied the claims and reciprocated the expulsion earlier this week.

The UK government is considering allowing Russian officials to visit Yulia Skripal, who is recovering in hospital along with her father Sergei after a nerve agent attack.

Ms Skripal is understood to be conscious and talking after she was poisoned with novichok while visiting her father in Salisbury.

Police are treating the poisoning as attempted murder. The attack has provoked a worldwide diplomatic spat as Western nations have joined the UK in expelling Russian officials in response.

Mr Skripal, a former Russian spy, has been in a critical condition since 4 March.

The Russian Embassy in London said in a tweet on Friday that it insists "on the right to see" Ms Skripal, who is a Russian citizen.

A UK Foreign Office spokeswoman said: "We are considering requests for consular access in line with our obligations under international and domestic law, including the rights and wishes of Yulia Skripal."

Meanwhile, Russia has told the UK it must send home just over 50 more of its diplomats in the ongoing tit-for-tat row.

Russia has already retaliated against Britain for the UK's expulsion of Russian intelligence agents by ejecting 23 British diplomats over the attack on the Skripals.

On Friday, the UK's ambassador to Moscow was told London had one month to cut its diplomatic contingent in Russia to the same size as the Russian mission in Britain.

On Saturday, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that meant Britain would have to cut a little over 50 additional diplomats in Russia.

We asked for parity. The Brits have 50 diplomats more than the Russians, she said.

It came after Russia claimed UK authorities searched one of their planes at a London airport in what they called a blatant provocation and threatened to board British planes in retaliation.

The Russian Embassy in the UK said in a statement: Today, we have witnessed another blatant provocation by the British authorities.

Border Force and Customs officers have searched the aircraft that was conducting the Aeroflot flights 2582 / 2583, Moscow - London - Moscow.

This kind of event is extraordinary.

They also alleged British officials had tried to search the plane in the absence of the crew.

The Russian embassy added: "Of course, we will carefully analyse what has happened. At this moment, we have no other explanation but that the incident at Heathrow is in one way or another connected with the hostile policy that the UK government is conducting with regard to Russia."

The Russian ministry of transport later said: "If there is no explanation, the Russian side will deem the actions towards our plane as illegal and also reserve the right to take similar action against British airlines."

Russia is continuing to expel other foreign diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to countries across the world sending home Russian diplomats in solidarity with Britain following the nerve agent attack in Salisbury.

Russia faces mass expulsions of its diplomatic staff around the world, with more than 150 sent back from 25 countries, and NATO.

Ambassadors from a number of other nations, including Germany, Italy, Poland and France, were also summoned by Moscow's foreign ministry.

Sixty Russian diplomats expelled by the United States were due to return home on Saturday, Moscow's envoy said.

In total, 171 people will leave the country, with two Russian planes being provided with one making a brief stopover in New York to collect 14 families.



Tourism Observer