by Olha Hembik | 2026-07-01

In the late 1980s, Aeroflot flew passengers nonstop to about 100 countries. This summer, Russians can reach roughly 31 by direct flight.

The map is shrinking fast. Western sanctions imposed after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine have grounded aircraft, cut off spare parts and erased routes. An industry that was growing 20 years ago now faces an aircraft shortage and a collapsing international network.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) said Russians can fly direct to 31 or 32 countries this summer. That is one-quarter fewer than last winter. It is also about two-thirds below the Soviet-era reach, when hundreds of domestic routes also crisscrossed the country. Even counting the All-Union flights that later became international, the drop is steep.

A summer of limits

Demand for foreign travel has not fallen, ATOR said, and experts expect most Russians to keep flying abroad this summer. Even so, in the best case for mass tourism, only 15 countries now have direct service.

"In the past, even Ukrainian tourists flew to exotic countries from Moscow. Thailand, Vietnam, Cuba, Mexico, China, the Dominican Republic and various islands were cheaper even with a long flight and a layover," said Valentina, a manager at the Kyiv travel agency Travel Salon. A Vietnam trip cost $1,000 from Boryspil in Ukraine but only $300 from Moscow, she told Kontur.

The usual options remain: Turkey, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives and Jordan, plus former Soviet republics, including occupied Abkhazia. Since March, package tours have also lost Bahrain, Israel, Iran, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Afghanistan and Iraq draw few tourists.

Drones stall the south

At Sochi's airport on June 5, travelers fainted in the crowds and heat instead of boarding. Thousands were stranded after Ukrainian drone attacks and missed vacations and business trips. Controllers restricted landings and takeoffs for more than six hours. During that stretch, the airport opened for just eight minutes.

Passengers lay on the floor on their own towels and mats. Every passageway jammed. The flight display boards went blank. Elevators failed under the crush of people. In all, 39 arriving and 37 departing flights were delayed, and 17 were canceled. The airport's press service said staff handed out water and opened extra areas for waiting passengers.

A video by Inform ARTA filmed at the airport struck a sharper note: "Remember that these are the people who wrote to the Ukrainians, 'What's going on with your airports?'" By June 12, Sochi still ran below capacity, with more than 40 flights delayed.

Political analyst Yuriy Romanenko argued it is unfair that Russians can still fly at all. He pointed to a Ukrainian drone strike on May 8 that hit an air traffic control center and the administrative building of an Aeronavigatsiya Yuga Rossii branch in Rostov-on-Don. The attack stopped air traffic across southern Russia for a long stretch.

"Russia's airport infrastructure is a completely lawful target to let Russians experience all the delights of war," Romanenko told Kontur. He noted that Ukrainians lost passenger air travel because of the war the Kremlin started, and he wondered aloud why Ukraine had not closed every airport in European Russia sooner. The loss of civil aviation, he said, will bring Russia "the most unfortunate consequences."

Planes cannibalized for parts

Drones are not the only cause of delays. War and isolation are wearing down the whole industry.

In January and February, more than a quarter of jetliners flown by Azur Air, the largest charter carrier, departed more than two hours late — beyond any acceptable standard. The culprit was the airline's Boeing fleet, which has grown far harder to service under sanctions. Azur Air had tried to skirt the restrictions, importing at least six Boeing engines through Asian countries. In January, two of its Boeing 757s made emergency landings abroad, in China and Vietnam, because crews could not fully service the American jets. Across last year, carriers logged more than 150 incidents with foreign aircraft, most tied to technical faults.

The fleet is thinning. Alexander Korytny, chief executive of Kaliningrad's Khrabrovo Airport, said Russia is losing planes and forcing crews to fly older ones longer. "We're all living in the sanctions regime, and with airplanes it's a big headache," Korytny said. Russia retires 10% to 15% of its aircraft each year, but sanctions make replacements hard to buy. Planes are aging faster than new ones arrive.

Domestic models are stalling too. The Superjet, MC-21 and Tu-214 programs all face certification delays. So manufacturers have turned to scavenging.

Russian aircraft production has begun to "engage in cannibalism," said Mykhailo Strelnikov, founder of the Museum of Victory over Despotism in Poland. He told Kontur he had watched social media videos of Russians stripping two planes to build one. Carriers in Siberia and the Far East have even pressed An-26-100 cargo planes into passenger service, filling the gap left by a shortage of regional aircraft.

"Until Russia grasps that it's time to put an end to this criminal war, both the aviation industry and passengers will suffer," Strelnikov said.