Aeroflot CEO asks Putin to cancel quarantine requirements on Muscovites traveling to other regions

Aeroflot CEO Vitaly Saveliev has reportedly asked Vladimir Putin to cancel the two-week quarantine several regions across Russia have imposed on all arriving outsiders, particularly visitors from Moscow. Three sources told the newspaper Vedomosti that Saveliev made the request at a recent meeting between the president, members of the government cabinet, and aviation industry leaders.

Saveliev reportedly complained that quarantine requirements for passengers have made it virtually impossible to fly out of Moscow, where all Aeroflot flights either depart or arrive. Sources say the Aeroflot CEO asked the president to order a phased end to the containment measures.

There is no official ban on air travel within Russia, but plummeting demand during the coronavirus pandemic has forced airlines to reduce flights by 92 percent, compared with April 2019. Because of quarantine requirements in Moscow, Aeroflot did not operate the most flights of any Russian airline in April for the first time ever, losing its crown to “S7.”