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Home  >  Russia  >  Escaping Moscow 101
Russia

Escaping Moscow 101

Matthew Klint Posted onMarch 1, 2022March 2, 2022 17 Comments

Even as the skies around Russia become more restricted, there are still several ways to depart Moscow via air if you find yourself stuck in the Russian Federation.

Guide: Escaping Moscow – Flight Options

With European and Canadian airspace blocked, nonstop service between Russia and Europe has stopped on both European and Russian carriers. Aeroflot has also suspended its service to the United States (at least through March 2, 2022) blaming the closure of Canadian airspace. It also suspended flights to Cuba and the Dominican Republic. An insider tell Live and Let’s Fly that a formal U.S. government ban against Aeroflot is expected to come, with the U.S. simply allowing additional days for American citizens to depart.

UPDATE: The U.S. has banned all Russian airlines from its airspace.

With many foreign nationals still in Russia and perhaps thinking about options to depart, there still remain several options as we enter March 2022 from Moscow’s three main airports.

Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO)

  • Tel Aviv (TLV)
    • Aeroflot
  • Istanbul (IST)
    • Aeroflot
    • N4
  • Antalya (AYT)
    • Aeroflot
  • Dubai (DXB)
    • Aeroflot
  • Bangkok (BKK)
    • Aeroflot
  • Doha (DOH)
    • Qatar Airways
  • Almaty (ALA)
    • Aeroflot
    • Air Astana
  • Beirut (BEY)
    • Aeroflot
  • Nur-Sultan (NQZ)
    • Aeroflot
  • Cairo (CAI)
    • Aeroflot
  • Baku (GYD)
    • Aeroflot
  • Yerevan (EVN)
    • Aeroflot
  • Abu Dhabi (AUH)
    • Etihad
  • Belgrade (BEG)
    • Air Serbia
  • Male (MLE)
    • Aeroflot

Service to smaller airports in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are also running, but I did not include them in the list due to the lack of connecting options.

Moscow Vnukovo (VKO)

  • Istanbul (IST)
    • Turkish
  • Yervean (EVN)
    • Aircompany Armenia
  • Abu Dhabi (AUH)
    • Wizz Air Abu Dhabi
  • Dubai (DXB)
    • FlyDubai
  • Baku (GYD)
    • Azerbijian Airlines

There are also quite a few Azul Air charters operating from VKO, but these are not regularly scheduled services.

Moscow Domodedovo (DME)

  • Bahrain (BAH)
    • Gulf Air
  • Cairo (CAI)
    • EgyptAir
  • Dubai (DXB)
    • Emirates
  • Colombo (CMB)
    • SirLankan
  • Tel Aviv (TLV)
    • EL-AL

With the Russian ruble in free fall, if you can pre-pay in Russian currency, you stand to score the best flight deal as well.

As pressure mounts on airlines to stand with Ukraine and cut off ties with Russia, we could see more of these routes drop. However, Gulf nations and Turkey have given no indication that flights will be suspended, so I would not expect any of these routes to be cancelled, even if the conflict continues.

Emirates sees profit in being a primary artery in and out of Russia and is utilizing an A380-800 for its Moscow service.

Land borders are not sealed, so you also have the option of entering Finland via ferry or train from St. Petersburg.

CONCLUSION

If you find yourself stuck in Russia, there are still many ways to depart the country by air. I’ve focused on Moscow here, but St. Petersburg and other airports also are running limited international service. It’s not too late to depart, even with flights to Europe and North America now largely shut down.

image: Turkish Airlines

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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17 Comments

  1. Stuart Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 10:24 am

    Good advice for people still there and wanting out. I have used Emirates out of Moscow to get to IAD via DXB. It adds a few hours but you at least get EK quality. That is if you don’t mind supporting carriers and nations who refuse to condemn Russia these days.

  2. Uri Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 10:29 am

    I’d love to see Tel Aviv become an intercontinental hub, yet I think it should be removed from the list.

    1. Flights from Moscow need to use Cyprus airspace. Not sure it’s possible, and whether it will start possible.
    2. No transfer facilities. Passengers need to enter Israel and exit again, which is a bother and may require visa.

    So if you try to get away from Russia, Israel is probably not the best route

  3. Chemboy Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 10:52 am

    Flights to DEL appear available too

  4. Debit Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 11:44 am

    And what about many Americans going to ukraine to fight against Russians? How are they different than the people that left to Join the ISIS? Has the US government approved people going in civilian capacity?

    Should these people be losing their citizenships when they come back? But you say this is the good fight, ukraine are the good guys. But there are Americans traveling to join the Russians too. What about them?

    • GUWonder Reply
      March 1, 2022 at 12:15 pm

      If they join the international legion of a recognized state’s military for a country that is not blacklisted by their country of citizenship and doing so doesn’t violate the laws of their country of citizenship, then that is very much different than joining a designated terrorist organization.

      • Debit Reply
        March 1, 2022 at 2:15 pm

        What’s the difference between ISIS killing civilians and Russians killing civilians.

        ISIS wanted to be a state. It was running things like a state. Russia is a state. It runs things like ISIS. It also hates lgbt, it also assassinattes and jails opponents.

        • GUWonder Reply
          March 1, 2022 at 7:21 pm

          Move goal-posts much?

          You asked about Americans going to Ukraine to fight against Russia and why that’s different than people going to join ISIS.

          How many Americans who went to join ISIS had the US force the loss of their US citizenship? Zero?

  5. Jerry Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    I believe the US Embassy in Moscow posted yesterday that the train is only available to Russian and Finnish passport holders, but the ferry is open to all. Personally, I’m curious about the viability of the Murmansk – Kirkens border post way up north. It’s a border I’ve long wanted to cross.

  6. GUWonder Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 12:12 pm

    One or more of the Middle East and/or former Ottoman Empire area carriers and some other Asian carriers will still work to get in and out of Russia. It may be a longer trip but where there’s a will there’s a way if a non-stop or more direct trip to/from Russia is not possible due to airspace closures.

    It seems to me that even today, China, India, Israel, the the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Iranians, and even NATO-member Turkey are still not wholly committed to being solidly against this expanded Russian invasion and worsening occupation of yet more of Ukraine. With that kind of trying to have their cake and eat it unprincipled stance, one or more of these rascal governments can be expected to try to keep some routes open.

    • Abhi Reply
      March 2, 2022 at 6:44 am

      After how ukrainians are treating indian students being racist and neo-nazis it is a wonder that India hasn’t openly started supporting the war on the russia side. Not everyone is buying the western agenda here. While I sympathize with common people in Ukraine, I have no sympathy for ukranian authorities acting this way. Russia at least is trying not to hurt civilians and assist in refugees.

  7. John Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 12:21 pm

    Your entry of Belgrade is incorrect. Serbia hasn’t prohibited Russian flights, true.

    But Serbia is a landlocked country and ALL neighbors sourrounding it are prohibiting Russian flights. Going clockwise, Serbia’s neighbors are: Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro, and Croatia. (Bosnia Hercegovina is immaterial because it is landlocked as well and its all neighboring countries with the exception of Serbia have prohibited Russian flights. So Russian aircraft cannot get to Bosnia Hercegovina, either.)

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      March 1, 2022 at 12:39 pm

      Fair point. Air Serbia still has not cancelled flights, but you are probably correct if the airspace ban impacts non-Russian carriers originating in Russia.

      • Uri Reply
        March 1, 2022 at 3:07 pm

        To justify the title, it’s best to include only flights that give a good chance of actually escaping Moscow.
        Flights which are in high risk of not actually operating better stay off the list.

        For most people, there are two options to seriously consider – Istanbul and Dubai.
        Both are very likely to keep flying and provide plenty of connectivity.

        • Matthew Klint Reply
          March 1, 2022 at 3:23 pm

          I tend to think options via Armenia and Serbia will continue, though traveling via the Gulf is the most likely.

          • Dougie
            March 1, 2022 at 11:07 pm

            I think Colombo is likely to continue as well, at least for the short term.

  8. Jason Reply
    March 1, 2022 at 5:21 pm

    Is a formal ban on Aeroflot excepted or expected? I’m confused.

  9. THEDZDIVAEH Reply
    March 2, 2022 at 9:12 am

    You’re missing DME ALA with Air Astana, and DME BAH with Gulf Air too! It’s available.

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