From Russia in the winter season, tourists can fly direct flights to 32 countries, which included most of the winter tourist destinations – at least beach ones. That is, the situation is “worse than we would like, but much better than it could be.” So it was determined by ATOR experts. They also added that the total number of tourists who flew on international flights also exceeded skeptics' expectations – 16 million tourists flew abroad, although it was assumed that their number would not exceed 10 million. And we are talking only about Russian airlines – somewhere else 9- 12 million will use the services of foreign carriers.
Experts also add a “fly in the ointment”: only 2/3 of the available destinations may be of interest to tourists. The rest are inaccessible, unsafe or still closed to most due to covid – this is, in particular, China. However, as already mentioned, most of the winter beach destinations were available. Also, these are mostly visa-free countries with no covid restrictions.
Here is a complete list of countries, with cities from where flights are open, as well as information about covid restrictions:
- Azerbaijan. Flights are open from the following cities: Astrakhan, Grozny, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa. For Russian tourists visa-free for up to 90 days, covid restrictions are preserved – they accept only those who have been vaccinated or have been ill.
- Algeria – flights are open only from Moscow.
- Armenia: Flights are open from the following cities: Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Kaluga, Minvody, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Ufa, Chelyabinsk. No visa, you can enter with a Russian passport, there are no covid restrictions.
- Afghanistan – flights from Moscow are open
- Bahrain – flights from Moscow are open, for tourists for a trip up to 14 days a visa is issued at arrival, no problems with covid.
- Belarus. Flights are open from the following cities: Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, entry is possible with a Russian passport, no covid restrictions.
- Venezuela, flights are open from Moscow, including for tourists, a visa for up to 90 days is not required, there are no covid restrictions
- Egypt. Flights are open from the following cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Minvody, Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhnekamsk, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Perm, Samara, Sochi, Ufa. Tourist charters fly from most cities. Visas are issued on arrival as usual, in Hurghada they are paid, in Sharm el-Sheikh – a free stamp, there are no covid restrictions.
- Israel – flights fly from the Mineralnye Vody, Moscow and Sochi, for tourists visa-free up to 90 days, no limit.
- India. Flights fly from the following cities: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Omsk, Perm, visas are paid, electronic, upon arrival.
- Iraq – flights from Moscow.
- Iran – flights fly from Moscow and St. Petersburg, an electronic visa is required, covid restrictions remain – a vaccination certificate or PCR test is required, a health declaration must also be completed
- Kazakhstan. Flights fly from the following cities: Astrakhan, Grozny, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa, Chelyabinsk. You can enter for up to 30 days, including with a Russian passport.
- Qatar – flights from Moscow, visa-free up to 90 days.
- Kyrgyzstan. Flights from the following cities: Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kazan, Kemerovo, Krasnoyarsk, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa, Chelyabinsk. Visa-free up to 30 days, you can use a Russian passport.
- China has flights from Moscow and St. Petersburg, but the country is still “closed for covid” for tourism.
- Cuba – flights are still running only from Moscow, visa-free up to 90 days and no restrictions.
- Laos — flights are open from Vladivostok, visa-free for 30 days.
- Maldives — flights are open from Moscow, visa-free for 90 days.
- Mongolia — flights launched from Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Ulan-Ude, visa-free for 30 days.
- UAE. Flights were launched from the following cities: Grozny, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Perm, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Tyumen, Ufa. For tourists visa-free for up to 90 days and no covid restrictions.
- Oman – flights launched only from Moscow, for a tourist trip up to 10 days – visa-free, no restrictions.
- Seychelles – flights launched from Moscow , visa-free for 30 days, no restrictions.
- Serbia. Flights fly from the following cities: Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg, Sochi. Visa-free for 30 days.
- Tajikistan. Flights fly from the following cities: Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa, Chelyabinsk. Visa free for 90 days, vaccine or PCR test required
- Thailand. Flights fly from the following cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Vladivostok, Kemerovo, Omsk, Samara, Tyumen, most of them are tourist charters. For tourists, visa-free travel is available for 45 days, all covid restrictions have been lifted.
- Tunisia, according to ATOR, New Year chains from Moscow and St. December.
- Turkmenistan – flights from Moscow and Kazan, strict covid restrictions and visa regime.
- Turkey. Flights were launched from the following cities: Grozny, Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Nalchik, Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhnekamsk, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Ufa, Chelyabinsk. Tourists are granted a visa-free regime for 90 days, with the opportunity to stay in the country continuously – 60 days, there are no restrictions.
- Uzbekistan. Flights are open from the following cities: Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Makhachkala, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Perm, Samara, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Stavropol, Surgut, Tyumen, Ufa. Visa-free for 60 days.
- Sri Lanka. Flights from the following cities — Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Novosibirsk, St. Petersburg. Tourists are issued visas upon arrival, electronic and paid, there are no restrictions.
- Ethiopia flights from Moscow, visas on arrival.
Also, according to ATOR, the opening of flights to Myanmar, of the more interesting destinations for tourists, Indonesia is also being discussed. It is quite possible that they will be opened as early as 2023.
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “Doctors have named 4 signs of a sore throat in which you should see a doctor.”
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