Russia pledges state support for airlines

The Russian government has announced plans to support the country’s airlines so they can reimburse passengers whose flights were canceled due to sanctions.

Under the proposed plan, Russian air carriers will get 19.5 billion rubles ($238 million), according to Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

“The subsidies will be used to refund passengers the cost of tickets on routes that have been canceled due to external restrictions, which will save carriers their own working capital, which means there will be financial resources to ensure flight safety,” Mishustin said on Thursday.

The EU, UK, and the US closed their airspace to Russian planes as part of sanctions introduced against the country. Russian airspace is also closed to countries that issued the flight ban.

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