Flights to Gelendzhik airport have resumed

Gelendzhik Airport received its first passenger plane after a break of more than three years. The flight from Moscow was operated via Kazakhstan and the Caspian Sea.

As "Kavkazsky Uzel" wrote, on July 9, the Ministry of Transport announced that Gelendzhik Airport will be opened in the near future for domestic flights. The possibility of safe flights to Gelendzhik Airport has been confirmed by specialists from Rosaviatsia and the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management, the department reported.

On July 18, Gelendzhik Airport served its first passenger flight after more than a three-year break. The flight from Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport was operated by Aeroflot, Interfax reports.

175 of the 183 seats in the cabin were occupied, RIA Novosti noted, citing its correspondent. According to the online board on the airport's website, Aeroflot's Moscow flight is also scheduled to arrive and depart on July 19 and 20.

The route has become slightly longer

The Airbus A321 flight lasted about four hours: the plane flew through Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains and past Sochi, 93.ru writes. "The route has become slightly longer, but it is more interesting for passengers - the cosmic sea, the Caucasus Mountains, and then - the city of Sochi and Gelendzhik," the publication quoted the crew commander as saying.

Arriving passengers complained that there was no bus service, and a taxi from the airport costs 300-500 rubles. At the same time, people were satisfied with the flight itself, the publication notes.

"The ticket cost 15,000 rubles. I came for a one-day vacation, now I'm going to pick up my family. The flight was great," passenger Oleg told the publication.

I bought a ticket for 15,000 rubles

"The flight went well, the landing was soft. I didn't get tired from flying, I'll fly even further, to Sevastopol, where I live now. I bought a ticket for 15,000 rubles. I used to have to go from Simferopol to Sochi and fly from there," passenger Svetlana is quoted as saying in the publication.

Recall that on July 13 it became known that Ural Airlines began selling tickets for flights to Gelendzhik from Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. The first flight is scheduled for July 24, the ticket price varies from 19,259 rubles to 45,254 rubles.

Earlier, on July 11, S7 Airlines announced that it would resume flights to Gelendzhik from Novosibirsk from August 7, and from Moscow from August 8. Flights from Novosibirsk's Tolmachevo Airport will be operated twice a week, and from Domodedovo - four times a week.

Airports in cities in southern Russia that are operating under the military operation in Ukraine are periodically closed due to the threat of drone attacks. Thus, on June 29, the airports of Volgograd and Elista stopped accepting and sending flights. The restrictions were lifted the same day.

On July 6, passengers at Sochi airport faced hours-long waits for departure due to the introduction of the "Carpet" plan at Moscow and St. Petersburg airports.