Laos, Jordan close airspace for Russia, complicating flights to Thailand and Egypt

This information was reported by a Russian Telegram channel Aviatorshina, that is presenting itself as an analytical resource about Russian passenger air transportation market.

Several Russian carriers use Jordanian airspace when flying to Egypt due to Turkey’s ban on dual-registered aircraft. But since last week, Jordanian aviation authorities have stopped approving Russian programs to pass through its airspace, 2 sources told the online media.

The first company to be denied overflight was Nordwind, which has now stopped operating flights over Jordan. Following Nordwind, i-Fly company has been denied permission to cross the Jordanian sky since December 15.

According to the source, the Jordanian aviation authorities have set a new requirement for Russian airlines. They now need to provide third-party aviation insurance with reinsurance in the English market, which is closed to Russia due to sanctions.

Thus, Jordan’s policy has caused at least 2 carriers to have significant difficulties with flights to Egypt. They cannot fly over Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and now Jordan. In addition, Syria is also closed for all Russian carriers.

Recently, another Russian company named Aeroflot had faced a similar issue in a different part of Russia. Laos has closed its sky for the company and it cannot fly to Thailand anymore.

As a result, the airline is forced to operate flights from Vladivostok to Bangkok on Boeing 737-800 on an extended route and with an intermediate stop for refueling (which takes approximately 12 hours). Direct flights took 7 hours. And the airline’s passengers have faced numerous flight delays and postponements, as well as the loss of flight connections.

The airline's press service told Aviatorshina that Laos has not approved Aeroflot's application to fly over its territory, despite the agreements to do so. Such agreements have been reached even before the opening of the flight program from the regions of Russia to Thailand, according to the press service.