Armenians leaving for Russia are noticing a sharp inflation of airfares for flights to the Russian Federation. In an interview with Armenian News-NEWS.am, Armenians leaving for Russia via the first flights opened following the reopening of the Russian border said airfares have almost doubled.

“We used to buy tickets for 14,000 rubles, but now we buy them for 23,000 rubles. Since the borders will only be open for a month, citizens are probably rushing to leave for Russia, and that’s why the prices are high,” a man said.

Deputy Director of Aircompany Armenia Gevorg Khachatryan stated that airfares haven’t increased. “A lot of people want to depart, and there is high demand. Cheap tickets are sold quickly, and the expensive ones remain, making it seem like the prices of tickets have gone up,” he said.

The citizens got tested for COVID-19 three days before departure via the “I Travel Without COVID-19” app, while many other citizens found out at the airport that they had gotten tested at wrong laboratories and caused uproar when they were told that they couldn’t depart, after which the airline company made an exception and gave them the chance to change their tickets and depart a few days later.

Most of the interlocutors were citizens of the Russian Federation who hadn’t been able to leave for Russia due to the coronavirus, and most of them have lost their jobs in Russia and have to get back on their feet.

Among the people departing were citizens of Russia who had arrived in Armenia at the end of last year or early this year.

From February 1 to March 1, citizens of Armenia will be able to travel to the Russian Federation. Today there were four flights to Moscow.