Turkmenistan Airlines Stops Flying To Moscow Citing Safety Concerns

The airline's flights to Moscow are suspended, but services to Russia continue.

The national flag carrier of Turkmenistan, Turkmenistan Airlines, has suspended its operations between the country's capital, Ashgabat, and Moscow, Russia. The news comes as the airline announced safety concerns after a drone exploded in central Moscow on July 31, 2023.

The airline will continue to operate flights to Russia. However, instead of the Ashgabat-Moscow route, Turkmenistan Airlines will now operate flights between Ashgabat and Kazan, the fifth-largest city in Russia, located approximately 800 kilometers away from Moscow.

In a statement on its official page on Russia's biggest social media platform, Vkontakte, Turkmenistan Airlines said:

"Dear passengers, we would like to inform you that due to the air situation in the Moscow air zone, as well as based on a risk assessment in order to ensure flight safety, starting from 01.08.2023, all flights of Turkmenistan Airlines operating on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route will be suspended and will be operated on the Ashgabat-Kazan-Ashgabat route."

Passengers who have scheduled flights from Moscow to Ashgabat on August 2 were provided with a free shuttle bus from Domodedovo Airport (DME) to Kazan Airport (KZN), the airline said in its statement.

Flightradar24.com data reveals that Turkmenistan Airlines' flight T5726 between Moscow and Ashgabat was relatively infrequent, with just one weekly flight. The airline utilized its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on this route. The carrier currently has 22 aircraft in its fleet, including 12 Boeing 737s, four Boeing 777s, three Boeing 757s, two Airbus A330s, and a single Bombardier CRJ-700 aircraft, according to Planespotters.net.

After a series of drone strikes in Moscow, Turkmenistan Airlines was the sole airline to choose suspension of operations in the Russian capital.

In addition to recent drone strikes, Russia's aviation sector has faced significant challenges. In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the aviation industry has been subject to strict international sanctions. These sanctions have effectively barred Russian-registered and affiliated aircraft from accessing the airspace of Canada, the US, Europe, and several other countries.

Also, the major aircraft manufacturers, including Airbus and Boeing, have halted the supply of spare aircraft parts for Russian aircraft. But Russia's aviation sector remains heavily reliant on Western-made aircraft. To put it into perspective, the country's flag carrier Aeroflot currently operates a fleet of 366 aircraft, of which only 77 are Sukhoi Superjet 100s, Russia's domestically-produced narrowbody aircraft.

El Pais reported that inspections conducted by Rostransnadzor, a Transportation Ministry agency, discovered that a minimum of 2,000 flights had operated with components that had already exceeded their operational lifespan. In addition, an investigation by Proekt Media has found that Aeroflot instructed its aircraft personnel not to record in-flight malfunctions unless specifically directed to do so by the captain.

Sources: Flightradar24.com, Planespotters.net, El Pais