EU Sanctions Force Dobrolyot to Suspend Flights

By The Moscow Times

Aug. 3, 2014

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (left) standing in front of Dobrolyot low-coster. government.ru

Russia's new low-cost carrier, Dobrolyot, announced Sunday that it is suspending all of its flights from Monday onward following the imposition of EU sanctions.

Dobrolyot, a subsidiary of Russian national carrier Aeroflot, said in an online statement that the annulment of the leasing contract for its Boeing-737-800 aircraft due to EU sanctions was the reason for the cancellations.

Last week, the European Union blacklisted the airline as a part of its new round of sanctions against Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis.

The airline said that passengers scheduled to fly on the Moscow-Volgograd route until Aug. 20 and those scheduled to travel to Simferopol on Sept. 15 will be transferred to Orenburg Airlines. Passengers flying to other destinations with the airline will be fully refunded, the company said.

Dobrolyot started operating in May, and its maiden flight took place a month later.

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