The European Union which imposed flight ban on Antalya-based Southwind airlines, without any concrete evidence but claiming Russian partnership, now blocking Istanbul based another Turkish airline, Tailwind.
According to a report in the bulletin of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), Tailwind has been denied permission to fly between Antalya and Kaliningrad using European airspace due to missing or incorrect documentation. Although initially attributed to incorrect or missing paperwork, the prolongation of the process raises the question: "Is there an obstruction?"
Following the blocking of Southwind flights, tour operators that had arrangements with Tailwind for Kaliningrad operations were unable to conduct their first flight scheduled for April 28th. Despite maintaining hope for the operations, after discussions with EU authorities, Tailwind informed tour operators that flights cannot commence until at least May 15th under current conditions.
While tour operators ANEX and PEGAS remain hopeful for a resolution, ANEX Tour offers its customers 100% refunds or alternative holiday options of equal value, whereas PEGAS Touristik has canceled its program between Kaliningrad and Antalya, offering customers 100% refunds or the option to rebook with a connected flight.
On the other hand, PEGAS has announced its commitment to fulfill all obligations for Antalya tours with Moscow connections, bringing tourists from Kaliningrad to Moscow via Nordhwind and from Moscow to Antalya via Southwind.
