The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs that from July 12, 2025, citizens of the Russian Federation holding ordinary (non-diplomatic) passports will need to have a Spanish Airport Transit Visa (TAP) to transit through the international areas of Spanish airports.
This means that now for flights on the Dubai route — Mexico City and back with Emirates also require a visa, since this flight makes a technical stop at Barcelona Airport (Spain).
Instead of a Spanish airport transit visa (type A), any Schengen multi-visa, US, Canadian, Japanese and some other visas are suitable. But if you have a US visa, it is much cheaper to fly to Mexico via the US rather than on Emirates.
The mechanism for acquiring an airport transit visa type A is very similar to the mechanism for obtaining a guest Schengen visa and involves providing the consular department with air tickets and confirmation of financial solvency in the form of a certificate from the place of work and bank statements.
For the last few years, the Dubai — route Mexico City for Emirates airlines was one of the key points on the way for Russians to Mexico, since it did not require any visas. The airline flew to Dubai from Moscow and St. Petersburg, while flights from another airline — flydubai — it was possible to get to Dubai from Russian regions, and then transfer to an Emirates flight to Mexico City via Barcelona. The technical (operational) stop in Barcelona (1:55), based on the so-called “fifth freedom of air,” did not require transit passengers to exit the cabin or involve a short stay in the airport transit area, did not require passport control and migration procedures.
Two other popular routes on the way from Russia to Mexico remain Istanbul — Mexico City — Cancun Turkish Airlines and Moscow — Varadero (Cuba) by Aeroflot and Nordwind airlines, then Havana — Mexico on flights of Mexican air carriers.