Russia’s Transport Ministry might limit the amount of flights Austrian Airlines are allowed to operate to Russia. According to Kommersant, the carrier was recently sold to Lufthansa, which the Ministry officials believe resulted in the company losing its national status and the right to operate flights to Russia under the intergovernmental agreement.


‘If the airline does not belong to either the Austrian state or the Austrian residents, it cannot operate flights to Russia under the Russian-Austrian air traffic treaty,’ the Ministry representative said to Kommersant.


In the meantime, Austrian Airlines has been operating about sixty flights a week from Vienna to places like Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, and Krasnodar. Besides, the carrier runs a representation in Yekaterinburg.