Aeroflot’s new low-cost arm has had all flights cancelled as increased European Union sanctions over the Ukraine crisis caused its aircraft leasing agreements to be scrapped.
The EU announced punitive measures on low fare subsidiary Dobrolet last Thursday when it expanded its list of sanctions on Russia to include 95 people and 23 organisations who were subject to travel bans and asset freezes.
Dobrolet said in a statement on its website that it had been “forced to temporarily suspend flights on all routes”.
The carrier, which is partly owned by the state, said the sanctions imposed resulted in the cancellation of contracts under which it leased Boeing 737-800s, the Telegraph reported.
The airline added that European firms had refused to provide services, including flight information, repair and maintenance.
Passengers flying between Dobrolet’s base in Moscow and Simferopol, a city on the Crimean peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in March, will be transported on the carrier’s sister budget airline Orenair. Other passengers will have their tickets refunded.
Dobrolet, which was unveiled last October as a budget airline for domestic Russian destinations, ran its first flight to Simferopol in June.
It serves seven other cities in Russia using 737s and had expansion plans for other destinations.