Hundreds of US citizens stranded in Moscow following the Russian government's ban on all international flights

Hundreds of US citizens stranded in Moscow following the Russian government's ban on all international flights

Hundreds of US citizens have been stranded in Moscow after an evacuation flight to New York was grounded at the last moment due to a Russian ban on all international flights.

The Aeroflot flight was meant to carry US citizens seeking to leave Russia, and then repatriate hundreds of Russians stranded in the United States. Russia has closed its international borders for most travellers, and this afternoon announced that it would impose a ban on all international flights in and out of Russia as of Saturday morning.

The flight cancellation came after passengers had already boarded the flight. Some had been trying to leave Russia for weeks. Others had been living in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for days, waiting for a chance to leave the country.



A ballet photographer who lives in Russia, said that he has been trying to travel to the United States for several weeks to reach his father, who is sick with cancer.

“We were already on the flight, and then a flight attendant came on over the intercom and told us that we are not flying out, the flight is cancelled and all flights are cancelled by the Russian government,” he said by telephone. “There’s no information. We’re not even able to get any money back from our flight. We’re only able to change for a different day. A different day is no day, because no one knows when international travel will be OK in this whole situation.”

A video uploaded by his brother, Julian, showed angry passengers reacting to the flight cancellation. “It’s chaos,” he said. A US embassy spokesperson said: “The US Embassy is aware of the inexplicable cancellation of today’s Aeroflot flight to New York. The flight was full of US citizens anxious to get home. We are awaiting an explanation from the Russian Federation. We continue to work to find ways to help US citizens return home.”https://www.revenuehits.com/lps/pubref/?ref=@RH@yFrunQv_mzw-z-eHW6TrQFgCNN7_AvfT