Direct tickets from Moscow to Istanbul, in Turkey, and Yerevan, in Armenia, both destinations Russians can enter without a visa, are sold out
Outbound flights from Russia sold out quickly on Wednesday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the immediate partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists.
Putin’s announcement, made in a televised speech earlier this morning, has raised fears that some men of fighting age may not be allowed to leave Russia.
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu explained that the mobilization will be limited to civilians with experience as professional soldiers, and insisted that students and those who have only served as recruits will not be called up. In this sense, he has pointed out that the first wave of recruitment will target soldiers up to the age of 35 and non-commissioned officers up to 45 years.
However, data from Google Trends shows an increase in searches for Aviasales, Russia’s most popular flight buying website.
Direct travel from Moscow to Istanbul, in Turkey, and Yerevan, in Armenia, both destinations where Russians can enter visa-free, have been exhausted this Wednesday, according to data from Aviasales.
Some intermediate routes, including those from Moscow to Tbilisi, were also unavailable, while the cheapest flights from Moscow to Dubai cost more than 300,000 rubles ($5,000), about five times the average monthly salary.
Lithuania, for its part, which borders Russia and has not issued visas to Russian tourists since Monday, has warned after Putin’s announcement that it will also not issue humanitarian visas or visas of any kind to Russian citizens.
Source: La Verdad
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