The tension between Moscow and Tel Aviv entered the civil aviation sector, after Russia rejected a request submitted by the Israeli company El Al to open an air route to St. Petersburg instead of Moscow, in a move that was considered a direct punitive message against the backdrop of not allowing the Russian company Aeroflot to land in Israel.
According to a report by journalist Dean Fisher on the Israeli “N12” website, El Al had suspended its flights to Moscow due to the tense security situation in Russia, but it sought to find a solution that would allow it to resume flights to the country, so it proposed opening an alternative line to St. Petersburg.
However, the Russian authorities rejected the request, and according to the report, the decision was aimed at “punishing Israel.”
The Russian position is related to not granting the Russian company Aeroflot permission to land in Israel, at a time when the company is subject to widespread sanctions in Europe and the United States.
Although there are no specific Israeli sanctions preventing trade with Russia, a decision was made not to establish air relations with the Russian state-owned company.
On the other hand, the Israeli Ministry of Transportation and the Civil Aviation Authority have not yet ruled out the possibility of allowing Aeroflot to land in Israel in the future.
Professional officials believe that one of the reasons behind the Russian decision to punish Israel is Moscow’s belief that Tel Aviv is practically moving in the direction of international sanctions imposed on Aeroflot and Russia.
The report indicates that another private Russian airline, Red Wings, is still landing in Israel, which means that the restrictions do not include Russian airlines in general, but rather target Aeroflot directly.
El Al had suspended its flights to Moscow due to the recent drone attacks that Russia witnessed, and there is currently no expected date for the resumption of the route.
In parallel, the Russian aviation agency Rosaviatsia said earlier today that it had not received any notifications from foreign airlines regarding the suspension of their operations as a result of the security situation.
The Russian Interfax news agency reported this position from the head of Rosaviatsiya, Dmitry Yadrov.
Yadrov indicated that the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Aviation Agency will cooperate with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding civil flights to and from Russia.
This position came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that flights within Russia had become unsafe.
Thus, the crisis transformed from a mere technical dispute over the route of a flight into a mutual pressure card between Russia and Israel, as El Al found itself at the heart of a broader conflict entitled sanctions, freedom of access to the airspace, and the limits of relations between Moscow and Tel Aviv.
