The Russian airline Aeroflot made a regular direct flight to Mexico for the first time in seven years. Aeroflot's Airbus A350 landed in Cancun, Mexico on November 18, 2021, 4 hours behind schedule. There were 325 passengers on board, Russians and citizens of other countries.
According to airline representative Yulia Spivakova, all tickets for the first flight to Cancun have been sold. At Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, Mexican music was played during check-in for the flight, and on board the plane the crew presented gifts and souvenirs to passengers. Business class passengers were treated to Mexican cocktails.
«This year our airline celebrated several important dates related to flights to Mexico. In particular, 45 years ago an intergovernmental agreement was signed on the opening of a new line Moscow-Mexico City-Moscow, 25 years ago the first flights to Cancun began, then there was a break, and exactly ten years ago the first flight to Cancun in the modern history of Russia took place - it was October 31, 2011, — Yulia Spivakova said during a press conference that took place the day before the flight.
For her part, the Mexican Ambassador to Russia Norma Pensado welcomed the return of Aeroflot to Mexico. «If we combine all flights to Mexico, there will be 23 of them, including charter flights. And we are very pleased that in negotiations with Aeroflot we are considering other flight routes to our country… Unfortunately, in 2020 we observed a decline in tourist flow from Russia by 64% compared to 2019, but when communication between our states opened in May 2021, the number of Russian travelers almost instantly increased by 59% compared to the previous year», — Pensado said.
In 2019, more than 84,000 Russian citizens visited Mexico, an increase of 32% compared to 2018. This figure was close to the «peak» 2013, when the number of Russian guests in Mexico exceeded 107,000 people. After a decline in 2020, the flow of Russian guest countries to Mexico is rapidly increasing: in the first 9 months of this year, 41,333 Russians have already visited the country.
Damos la bienvenida al@Aeropuerto_CUNal vuelo de@Aeroflot_World_ en la ruta#Moscu#Rusiaa#Cancun, seguimos con la recuperación económica de nuestro Estado, mayor conectividad aérea desde mercados con potencial de crecimiento.@CPTQROO#QuintanaRoopic.twitter.com/maf0pKQUrb
— Carlos Joaquín (@CarlosJoaquin)November 19, 2021
Aeroflot will fly to Mexico 3 times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. For now, flights are planned only for the winter schedule, but most likely they will become year-round. At the moment, the flight between Russia and Mexico is the longest in Aeroflot’s route network.
Azur Air (tour operator Anex Tour) and Nordwind (Pegas Touristik) will continue to fly to Cancun together with Aeroflot. Their flights to Mexico are also scheduled, although they are often called charters.
From December 1, Russia will lift all restrictions on flights to Mexico. This means that other Russian air carriers are also able to fly to Caribbean resorts, and the frequency of flights will increase. Currently, the number of flights between Moscow and Kanun reaches 5/6 per week.
Simple entry criteria into the country stimulate a large flow of travelers from different countries, including Russia. Mexico does not require a vaccination certificate or coronavirus test for entry. To come to Mexico, Russians just need to buy a tour package and prepare a free electronic permit. Most Mexican states are located in the green, safe epidemiological traffic light zone; at Mexican resorts, quarantine restrictions are almost invisible.