From budget travelers to oligarchs, Russians are being forced to change their travel plans due to Western sanctions.
European sanctions have grounded Russia’s fledgling low-cost airline Dobrolet just two months after it launched. And a Russian tour operator, Labyrinth, collapsed over the weekend, blaming the financial strain of the crisis.
Dobrolet had been flying four times a day since June from Moscow to Simferopol, the capital of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.
Flights were suspended at midnight Sunday after European companies stopped providing leasing, repair and maintenance services and insurance to the airline, owned by Russian flag carrier Aeroflot.
The European Union added Dobrolet to its list of sanctions targets last week for helping to integrate Crimea into Russia, and thereby undermining Ukraine.
Labyrinth suspended its tours Saturday, stranding thousands of Russians abroad. It blamed the devaluation of the ruble and political and economic strains for a sharp fall in bookings.
At the other end of the price range, one of Russia’s richest men has been forced to stop using his Gulfstream G650 private jet after the U.S. company withdrew technical support, The Moscow Times reported.
“Gulfstream is prohibited from having any contacts with me,” Gennady Timchenko was quoted as saying. “They cannot discuss either future supplies of already ordered jets or the operation of this one.”
Gulfstream, owned by General Dynamics, did not immediately respond to an e-mail requesting comment.
The G650 costs about $65 million and can carry eight passengers non-stop for nearly 13,000 kilometers, or about 8,000 miles. It offers “wide seats, more aisle room and a large stateroom option for resting between world capitals.”
Billionaire Timchenko sold his 44% stake in Swiss-based energy trading company Gunvor in March, just 24 hours before he was hit by U.S. sanctions.
Pressure on the oligarch’s business has grown since. Natural gas producer Novatek — part owned by Timchenko — is also now subject to sanctions.
Dobrolet uses Boeing 737s. It hoped to have eight planes in operation by the end of the year, flying to a number of Russian regions. It was planning to add European destinations in 2016.
