How the situation in the Middle East affects Russian airlines and passengers
As Kommersant found out, the temporary restrictions imposed by the Federal Air Transport Agency on flights over the Middle East have not yet affected the demand for flights to Israel, the UAE and Iran, but have caused concern among passengers. The All-Russian Association of Passengers (PPA) is recording an increase in requests for refunds and is calling on regulators to recommend that airlines and tour operators provide an “unconditional refund” to passengers who may change their minds about flying. Tour operators note that Middle Eastern carriers have made almost no adjustments to flight programs and tourists will choose them if Russian airlines continue to fly overflights.
The Federal Air Transport Agency’s restrictions on air carriers flying in the airspace of Israel, Iran and Iraq did not affect the demand of passengers in this direction, Kommersant’s interlocutors in the industry told.
1 October after waves of missile strikes Iran's Federal Air Transport Agency recommended refraining from flights to Iran, Iraq and Israel. After the missile attack ended, Israel announced the opening of the skies. On October 2, the Federal Air Transport Agency recommended that airlines operate flights to these countries from October 3 between 9:00 and 19:00. Pilots were advised to be vigilant and take alternative routes.
The situation has forced a number of airlines to adjust routes and schedules. The Red Wings plane, flying from Sochi to Tel Aviv on October 1, landed in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The airline also canceled the Tel Aviv-Sochi flight. Flight S7, flying on Tuesday from Moscow to Dubai, returned to the airport of departure; the flight there from Novosibirsk was delayed. On the morning of October 2, Ural Airlines delayed flights from Yekaterinburg to Dubai and back. Aeroflot canceled flights Moscow-Dubai-Moscow on October 2, a flight to Iran on the same day and a return flight on October 3. Carriers have announced refunds to passengers who wish to cancel their flight.
By the evening of October 2, the situation with the schedule began to stabilize. Azimuth operates flights on standard routes, the carrier operating flights to Tel Aviv reported. S7 says that they have not recorded any significant changes in demand in this direction. The company added that fuel costs account for almost 40% of the total flight cost: “Increasing the flight length increases them proportionally.”
The reaction of passengers to flight cancellations and delays is “quite painful,” says PLO head Ilya Zotov. Passengers, he said, react sharply to the increase in flight time, and the PLO receives many questions regarding the settlement of refunds for tickets. “It would be advisable for the regulator to recommend to carriers an unconditional refund to passengers for canceled or rescheduled flights, as well as in the event of a passenger’s unwillingness to fly in a changed situation. It is worth defining a list of directions for this,” he believes. As Mr. Zotov notes, the situation in the Middle East may escalate and the region will face the problem of a large number of “undeported” Russians. Most of the requests, he said, come from buyers of tour packages, where the issue of refunds is regulated by the Ministry of Economy.
On Tuesday, the Ministry of Economy recommended that travel market participants not apply penalties against travelers who cancel or reconsider trips to the Middle East.
Sber Insurance reported that demand for travel policies that include compensation for flight delays and cancellations has increased by more than 30% since September. Renaissance Insurance, IC Soglasie and Sovcombank Insurance did not notice a surge in demand for policies against delays or cancellations of flights. IC Rosgosstrakh says that such options are usually included by 5-6% of their clients when taking out a travel policy. AlfaStrakhovanie reported that 5–10% of the total number of passengers took out an insurance policy against flight delays during the year.
Among the destinations facing changes in flight programs, the main one for tour operators is the UAE. According to Sletat.ru, the country generated 10.3% of sales in the week of September 25–October 2. There are no cancellations for destinations yet, but if tours were planned on flights of Russian carriers, they are trying to reschedule the bookings, says Intourist representative Daria Domostroeva. She does not exclude that booking activity may decline during the week due to the negative information background. Travelata.ru Marketing Director Oleg Kozyrev recalls that a year ago, the aggravation of the situation in Israel led to a decrease in demand for the Middle East for several days. According to him, any flight cancellations and negative information background create, first of all, a burden on business associated with an increasing number of customer requests.
The most affected destination is likely to be Iran.
The Russian Embassy in the country recommended refraining from traveling to Iran until the situation normalizes. According to estimates by the FSB border service, in the first half of the year Russians made 21.1 thousand trips to Iran, which is 15.6% less than a year earlier. Tour operators have not yet made a decision to revise their programs. “The next arrival is scheduled for October 14, we are monitoring the development of events,” says Mrs. Domostroeva.
Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin notes that changes in flight programs also affected adjacent routes. Thus, the Aeroflot flight to the Seychelles, according to him, on Wednesday took two hours longer to reach its destination. According to Mr. Gorin, Middle Eastern carriers made almost no adjustments to their flight programs and if Russian airlines continue to fly to the UAE for seven to eight hours, and foreign airlines for five to six, passengers will choose the latter. Foreign companies on Middle Eastern routes, he said, occupy 50–60%.
