Kyiv calls on Yerevan not to accept flights from Simferopol
Simferopol, November 18 (PolitNavigator, Evgeniy Andreev) – Air travel from Crimea is “illegal”, so airlines operating them may be subject to international and Ukrainian sanctions.
Subscribe to PolitNavigator – Crimea news on Facebook , Odnoklassniki , or VKontakte
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Yevhen Perebyinis reported this in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine .
“Crimean airports are closed by decision of the Ukrainian government. Any flights there and back are a violation of the laws of Ukraine and international regulations, and therefore the airlines may be subject to international sanctions from Ukraine and the ICAO,” Perebiynis noted.
At the same time, he called on his Armenian colleagues not to accept Grozny Air flights from Simferopol, noting that the Russian authorities allegedly resorted to trickery to hide the illegality of flights from Crimea by making an intermediate landing of the plane in Anapa.
“We hope that, despite these tricks, Armenian air traffic controllers will clearly understand that this is only a trick to legitimize illegal flights from annexed Crimea,” said the speaker of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Let us remind you that last Sunday, the Minister of Transport of the Republic of Crimea, Anatoly Tsurkin, said that on the morning of November 16, the first flight took off from Simferopol to Yerevan.
The minister added that planes will fly once a week. Departure from Simferopol airport is scheduled for Sunday at 09.00 Moscow time. Departure from Yerevan Zvartnots Airport is scheduled for Monday at 15.00 (14.00 Moscow time). The flight duration will be from one hour 45 minutes to two hours.
Meanwhile, back on October 25, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation of Armenia refuted Minister Tsurkin’s statement about the establishment of an international air route “Yerevan – Simferopol” from November 16. The flights were to be operated by Grozny Avia. Also, according to Tsurkin, on October 23, the sale of tickets for the specified flight began. Meanwhile, there was no information on the organization of air travel on the Yerevan-Simferopol route on the official website of Grozny Avia that day.
On November 16, the GUGA of Armenia again denied the message about the organization of a direct flight “Simferopol - Yerevan”.
“The State Administration for Civil Aviation does not consider an application for a direct flight from Yerevan to Simferopol; such a flight does not exist,” said department press secretary Ruben Grdzelyan.
Kyiv calls on Yerevan not to accept flights from Simferopol.