The Embassy of the Dominican Republic in the Russian Federation announced through its social networks the return of operations of the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot in the country. They will resume flights between Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow and Punta Cana International Airport, as of October 1, 2021.
Russia’s largest airline operator resumes operations to the Caribbean country after a suspension in March 2014. The airline will operate three weekly flights on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with the Airbus A350-900 configured with 28 suites in business class, 24 seats in premium economy class and 246 in economy class.
This new service is expected to increase passenger and cargo traffic to and from Russia, following the reopening of the borders between the two countries on August 9.
Aeroflot is the largest and most prestigious airline in Russia: its main hub at Sheremetyevo is the country’s main airport and one of the most connected airports worldwide according to OAG reports (Mega Hubs 2019), where it serves 146 destinations in 52 countries.
In recent years the air market between Russia and the Dominican Republic has fallen in passenger volume and operations, due to the bankruptcy of the leisure airline Transaero Airlines, which at the time was the largest Russian operator in the Caribbean country. This one had multiple scheduled and charter flights, mostly operated by Boeing 747-400 aircraft configured in high density of 522 seats in two classes. The former and no longer existing Russian operator had plans to fly 652-seat Airbus A380s to Punta Cana.
Prior to the pandemic, the only operators between Russia and the Dominican Republic were the leisure airlines Azur Air and Nordwind Airlines. The latter ceased operations between Moscow and Punta Cana in March 2020, due to the global health situation.
