A number of foreign airlines are canceling flights from St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport amid falling demand among Russians for international travel, the Kommersant newspaper reported this week.
Swiss International Air Lines and Icelandair are halting flights from Pulkovo to Geneva and Reykjavik, respectively, for this year's spring-summer period, the newspaper cited Pulkovo's operating consortium Northern Capital Gateway as saying.
In addition, flights to Palermo, Catania and Pisa have been canceled as a result of the closure in October of Italian budget airline Air One.
Northern Capital Gateway was cited as saying it remained optimistic that the situation will reverse itself as the economy improves, and is anticipating the renewal of flights to Reykjavik and Geneva next season.
Pulkovo has seen a decline in passenger turnover as fewer EU citizens travel to Russia amid worsening international relations, Kommersant reported, noting a 16-percent decrease in the number of passengers in the first two months of this year compared with the same period a year ago.
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