Russian airline Nordwind has been appointed as the carrier on a number of routes from Russia to Mexico. The corresponding notification from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Mexican aviation authorities was published on the website of the Russian aviation industry regulator. Nordwind can operate flights on the following routes:
- Rostov-on-Don - Cancun with a permitted frequency of 7 times a week,
- St. Petersburg - Cancun with a frequency of 7 times a week,
- Kazan - Cancun 4 times a week.
In fact, such a notification does not bear any obligations for the airline itself. It does not even indicate Nordwind's plans to begin flying to these destinations. The notification only says that the airline has received or is about to obtain permission from the Federal Air Transport Agency to fly on these routes.
Four airlines have permission to fly to Mexico, not only from Moscow, but also from many large Russian cities, and only to Cancun, Mexico: Nordwind (tour operator Pegas Touristik), Azur Air (Anex Tour), Royal Flight (Coral Travel) and Aeroflot. They received so many permits that if all flights were operated, planes from Russia would land in Mexico at least 7 times a day. Even if Cancun were rubber, Russia does not have enough people wanting to visit Mexico to load all these flights. So Russian airlines simply collect permits just in case.
In fact, now only 2 Russian airlines fly to Mexico: Nordwind and Azur Air. They take over all the frequencies allocated by the Russian Operational Headquarters for Combating Coronaviruses for flights to Mexico, namely 3 times a week. If possible, the Operational Headquarters will increase the allowed number of frequencies before the start of the winter flight schedule (end of October). But, most likely, just enough so that Aeroflot and, perhaps, Royal Flight can begin flights to Mexico. We very much doubt that Rostov and Kazan will be a priority compared to opening Aeroflot’s access to flights from Moscow.
Many media outlets wrote about the start of Aeroflot flights to Mexico on November 2. The airline itself remains silent for now; there is no sale of tickets to Cancun on its website either. But Aeroflot flights to Mexico — the most anticipated event. Firstly, the frequency is stated 3 times a week. Secondly, Aeroflot — not a travel company, it has better service, a larger route network, and all tickets are on sale. Thirdly, Aeroflot's presence on the route can bring down the current high prices for flights to Mexico — it’s a disgrace when one-way tickets from Moscow to Cancun cost 60-80 thousand rubles.
To summarize, we warmly welcome the acquisition of permission to fly to Mexico on any airline and from any city. Only those that are already flying are evaluated.