The second airlift since Phuket airport’s closure was performed by S7 Airlines on April 24. An acid green Airbus A321 left the island at 12.30pm and is scheduled to land in Novosibirsk (Southwestern Siberia) at around 8pm Phuket time.
The plane left Phuket with 146 adults, 42 children and five infants or toddlers, Russia’s Ministry of Transport announced via its official Twitter account.
Another airlift from Phuket to Novosibirsk is scheduled on April 26. This flight is to be performed by S7 Airlines as well. Yet, the details have not been formalised.
As of April 18, some 800 Russian nationals we waiting for airlifts from Phuket to their home country. Only one flight has been performed since then.
Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) explained earlier in April, that only Russian nationals who left Russia after Jan 1, 2020 can apply for airlifts back home.
Passengers who don’t have any return tickets to Russia or have canceled tickets issued by non-Russian air carriers have to pay a fee of 200 to 400 euro. Yet those with tickets issued by Russian carriers fly for free with the companies later settling the financial matters themselves.
Also there are limits on the number of arrivals Russian airports can accept per day. The limit for Moscow’s main gateway Sheremetyevo has been set at 500 people, the limit for all other cities has been set at 200 people.