Vladimir Putin has invited African airlines to start flying to Russia. Speaking on 28 October at the plenary session of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in Moscow's Gostiny Dvor, the Russian president said: "Of course, we also invite African airlines to launch flights to Russia, which would also further encourage tourism"1. The Russian original uses the verb for beginning flights, not for resuming them3.

That one sentence sat inside a wider offer on railways, roads, sea routes, transport hubs and digital customs systems1. It was addressed to African carriers only. Putin named no airline, country or route, and the speech does not mention European airlines or airspace closures124. The European bans and sanctions described further down are background, and they are separate from what he said.

What Moscow added two days later

The closest thing to detail came on 30 October from Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Nikitin, on the sidelines of Putin's meetings with African leaders. "Russia is open to airlines of all African states and is ready to consider applications to operate flights," he said in comments carried by TASS, adding that the key test for a new service is "economic attractiveness for carriers and a steady flow of passengers"5. These quotes are translated from Russian.

Nikitin said Russia is discussing more frequencies and destinations with Egypt, Morocco, the Seychelles and Tanzania633. Talks with Nigeria, he said, covered airport construction, air traffic management and digital services, not flights5. No new route or carrier was announced in the reports we reviewed.

Six African countries already have direct flights

According to Russia's Transport Ministry, direct air links run to Egypt, Morocco, the Seychelles, Tanzania, Tunisia and Ethiopia. Egypt is served by both Russian and Egyptian airlines. Morocco, Tanzania, Tunisia and Ethiopia are served only by foreign carriers, and the Seychelles only by Russian ones78. In four of the six, then, the link exists only because a non-Russian airline flies it.

The newest example is Air Tanzania. Its first flight from Dar es Salaam reached Moscow Vnukovo on 2 July with a Boeing 787-8, after Rosaviatsia approved the route in late May. It operates three times a week, returning through Zanzibar910. Ethiopian Airlines added a sixth weekly Addis Ababa to Moscow Domodedovo flight from 23 June, also with a 787-811.

Algeria is the one case where "resume" is the right word, though Putin was not the person who used it. Ambassador Alexei Solomatin told RIA Novosti on 26 October, in translation: "We hope to resume direct flights between Algeria and Russia at the beginning of next year." He tied the timing to procedures that include registering Air Algerie's presence in Moscow12. The airline's flights, three a week, stopped in early April13. The ambassador gave no firm date and neither report gives a reason for the halt1213.

A network leaning on foreign carriers

Foreign airlines already matter a great deal to Russia. Dmitry Gorin, vice-president of the Russian Union of Tourism Industry, put their share of international flights at 47% this year, against 25% in 201914. Kommersant counts more than 60 foreign airlines from 37 countries on scheduled services15.

Counts of destinations differ. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia said in May that direct flights this summer would reach 31 to 32 countries, about 25% fewer than the up to 43 foreign destinations available in winter, with Algeria among those dropped4. Gorin cited 35 countries in July14.

What stands in the way

Russia's own regulator has listed obstacles. Parlamentskaya Gazeta reports that Rosaviatsia cites refuelling difficulties, a shortage of wide-body aircraft that are busy on more profitable Far East and South East Asia routes, and sanctions: a number of companies in African countries are controlled by entities from what Moscow calls unfriendly states, which complicates aircraft servicing7.

Fuel has been a live issue. In June, RIA Novosti reported Rosaviatsia recommendations that foreign aircraft in cities including Mineralnye Vody, Makhachkala and Nizhny Novgorod be refuelled only by agreement and only with what the flight needs. The agency said airports had enough fuel and that carriers had been stocking up29.

Security is the other question. On 1 September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that "Russian airspace will effectively be closing" and said it was "becoming completely unsafe"35. Rosaviatsia described Ukraine's related NOTAM as illegitimate and said air transport, including foreign carriers, was working as usual27. Kyiv Post, citing the Russian outlet Agentstvo, reported 27 flights cancelled by foreign airlines at Moscow in one day and named carriers including Turkish Airlines, flydubai and Egypt's Nesma Airlines25. Pegasus attributed its cancellations to technical and operational reasons and said flights were running as scheduled from 2 September26.

Disruption has continued. On 23 October Rosaviatsia said three of Moscow's four airports had temporarily suspended flights during a drone threat, and Airports.ru data cited by The Moscow Times showed more than 500 cancellations there from 16 to 18 October28. During the summit itself, Nikitin said security requirements applied to everyone, including the aircraft of foreign delegations34.

EASA advises against operating in Russian airspace west of 60 degrees East at all flight levels, which includes Moscow. The advice also addresses third-country carriers holding an EASA safety authorisation, citing war-related risks23. Safe Airspace lists the current version, CZIB 2025-01 R3, as valid until 31 January 202724.

The state of the Russian fleet

Russian airlines are under their own pressure. Kommersant's analysis, reported by The Moscow Times in June, found about a fifth of the aircraft at the 11 largest airlines out of service this summer, and nearly 30% once Aeroflot Group is excluded. Aeroflot Group stood at about 11%, with mainline Aeroflot near 4%. Experts quoted called this manageable, while warning that availability could worsen from 2027 as aircraft age16.

Domestic replacements are running late. FlightGlobal reported in May that Rostec chief Sergei Chemezov acknowledged delays and that first MC-21 deliveries had moved to 202717. In April, Industry Minister Anton Alikhanov had hoped for MC-21 certification in October and said he was "more than confident" of an SJ-100 certificate this year18. In August, the head of the Irkutsk plant said four aircraft would be finished by the end of 2026 and passed to Aeroflot after certification19.

Background: the European closure and sanctions

This context is separate from Putin's remark, which did not address it. On 28 February 2022, the EU barred aircraft operated by Russian carriers and Russian-registered aircraft from landing in, taking off from or overflying its territory20. Rosaviatsia answered the same day by closing Russian airspace to carriers from 36 countries and territories, including EU members and the UK, unless given special permission21. The United States announced its own closure to Russian flights on 1 March 202232. EASA noted in January 2025 that no EU airlines fly to, from or over Russia23.

EU export rules work differently from the airspace ban. They prohibit aviation goods and services for use in Russia. In an entry last updated in June 2022, the European Commission said that "strictly speaking, in-and-out types of operations are not covered", but that adding a service inside Russia brings a flight within scope22.

At ICAO, Russia lost its Council seat in 2022 with 80 votes against the 86 needed, according to Rosaviatsia30. Its Transport Ministry confirmed in September 2025 that a new bid for the 2025 to 2028 term had also failed31.