Pobeda applying for Ukrainian routes?

Picture: Pobeda

According to an information published by the Russian news agency Interfax, Aeroflot's low cost subsidiary Pobeda has applied to Russian authorities for rights to fly to four Ukrainian cities: Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov and Odessa.

This piece of news is interesting because, since Oct. 25th there are no direct flights between the two countries. As part of the ongoing conflict, Ukraine banned 25 Russian airlines because of their flights to Crimea, and in response Russia banned Ukrainian airlines as well.

Although not familiar with the technicalities of the ban and what are the chances of this application prospering in the near future, Washington Post's Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth pointed out in a twitter exchange, it might well be that Pobeda is not covered by the ban and this might be seen as a way to sort out the impasse...will see.

In the meantime, Belavia, the flag carrier of Belarus, and Riga-based AirBaltic are thought to be among the main beneficiaries from this situation.