Now only to Crimea, but still dubious: the borders of Russia can remain closed until the end of the year

“In recent years, Russians have traveled a lot both abroad and domestically. One year is not a tragedy, ”she said on Rossiya 24. According to her, the opening of borders this year is not expected, and the Russians should not plan foreign trips in the near future.

Russians will be able to relax this year only in the resorts of the Crimea and Krasnodar Territory, of course, if the self-isolation regime is not delayed for the whole season. Earlier, the head of the Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, urged Russians not to visit the resort towns of the peninsula yet . Local residents came out with protests , believing that restrictions would lead to the collapse of the economy of the region, which lives on tourism. Aksenov threatened a curfew with a protestant and drove everyone home.

The entry restriction, according to Matvienko, will be removed soon not only in Russia, but also in other countries of the world. At the same time, as Novye Izvestia previously wrote, far from all countries, air traffic is now limited. In Germany, for example, the borders are closed with five neighboring states, but the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands can still be crossed freely.

According to Matvienko, after opening the borders, it will also take some time to restore air communications. Earlier, co-owner of S7 airline Vladislav Filev predicted that the restoration of international flights is possible no earlier than April next year, but by this time it may turn out that there will be no one to fly: about 85% of all aircraft of Russian airlines are leased by international companies. In order for the Russian aviation industry to survive during the coronavirus pandemic, almost half a trillion rubles is needed. The chances that the government will allocate this money are nil, he believes.

International air traffic in Russia has been suspended since March this year. Now Russian planes fly abroad only in order to return tourists to their homeland. Some airlines completely suspended their work, some continued to fly in the domestic market, significantly reducing the number of flights. Aeroflot has already reduced the number of flights several times , and also did not begin to refund money for tickets even for those flights that it canceled itself. Pobeda Airlines began issuing vouchers for canceled flights, which can be used for flights after a pandemic. The international rating agency Fitch published a forecast in which it predicted the recovery of Aeroflot after the crisis no earlier than four years later.