Where you can fly from Russia to rest abroad

Summer holidays in 2022 for the majority of Russian residents turned out to be questionable. The holiday season, during which many traditionally tried to go abroad, turned out to be too expensive for many. For some, incomes have fallen significantly, for others, foreign tourism has proved impossible due to external restrictions.

VTSIOM polls conducted this spring show the uncertainty of citizens in this matter. Almost half of the country's residents are still thinking whether to take a vacation at all this summer. 17% reported that they would use weekends for recreation. Only 37% expressed a firm intention to go on vacation.

Opinion polls show that more than half of citizens (52%) do not plan to spend their holidays traveling.

Some respondents (39%) are going to spend it in the format of a country holiday. But there are also those Russians who, despite the difficulties, plan to travel abroad. Where can they go this summer?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many European countries were inaccessible due to restrictions. Serbia remains open to Russians (only by Air Serbia), which acts as a transshipment hub for many adventurers. Airports and air carriers experienced difficulties, faced with a shortage of employees a few years later. However, direct flights to most European countries are currently unavailable due to sanctions.

The list of countries published by ATOR, where residents of Russia can reach by air, includes Turkey, Israel, Egypt and the Maldives.

All of them allow you to spend your vacation on the beach. Countries such as Qatar, the UAE and Bahrain also remain available. From neighboring countries, there are beach holidays in Kazakhstan and Abkhazia. At the same time, holidays in the countries of Southeast Asia, where many residents of Siberia and the Far East previously preferred to spend holidays, have risen in price from 70% to 200%.

Some countries have begun to lift the previous coronavirus restrictions. Since June, PCR tests and vaccination certificates for residents of the Russian Federation have been canceled by Turkey. Since June 16, all restrictions of this kind have been lifted by Egypt. Now you can enter both countries with a valid passport. Since July, Thailand has become more accessible to tourists, no longer requiring filling out a Thailand Pass and having insurance in the amount of $ 10 thousand or more.

Experts note that wealthy citizens can still get to a number of countries, despite the reduction in the number of flights from the country.

Planes of foreign companies fly from Russia to India, Vietnam, Serbia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Turkey, the Seychelles and the Maldives.

Judging by VTSIOM polls, Russians are stopped from traveling by problems with currency transfers and the inability to freely use bank cards of the Mir payment system abroad. And if several banks in Turkey cooperate with the Russian payment system, in Egypt the system will be able to work no earlier than the autumn of 2022.