Russian tourists in Mexico face difficulties returning home
Cancun, Mexico, Mar 5 (EFE).- Over 400 Russian tourists on Saturday evening took off from Mexico’s Cancun International Airport bound for Moscow after longer stays than expected due to flight cancellations caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Although Mexico has not closed its borders to flights to and from Russia, many of the Russian passengers spent several hours at Cancun airport trying to get a ticket for the flight that left a little after 5 pm on Saturday.
Some of the passengers told EFE that they had had problems getting tickets back to their country.
A man traveling with his family, who withheld his identity fearing repercussions, said that their stay had been extended by “several days” because their scheduled return flight had been suspended and they had been put on a waiting list.
Other tourists at the airport’s terminal 4, used by the Russian Nordwind and Azur Air airlines, said that they had come to Mexico weeks ago and had decided to go home early despite plans to visit other parts of the country, fearing a possible border closure could prevent them from going back to Russia.
This comes after the European Union banned planes linked to Russia from its airspace, including flights operated by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot.
At terminal 3 of Cancun airport, used by foreign airlines, Aeroflot’s signage and notice boards had already been removed, with the airline announcing a complete suspension of flights from Mar. 8.
However, airport officials told EFE that so far they had “not received any official notification” over Aeroflot suspending its operations.
The Quintana Roo tourism authority said that there were no reports of stranded Russian tourists, only of delays and some flights being rescheduled.
On Monday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that Mexico would not close its borders to any country, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine war. EFE
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