Private jet industry booming in Russia

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 11 Jun 2021 by Alex Teddy

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Sirius Aero is a private jet charter company that is thriving. The company flies people from Moscow to Courchevel, Milan, Majorca, Malaga and Nice in particular. Tickets are USD 2,000 - 10,000. This is the Shuttle Up Service.The number of private flights is 32% up from before the pandemic. Private flights are exempt from EU aviation laws. Mainstream Russian airlines are largely absent from most EU countries. There are a handful of flights to the UK and Greece.Your Charter is another private travel company that is booming. There has been a 50% increase in requests to fly privately since the start of the pandemic. The company faces more demand than it can supply. Private flights have 15 passengers maximum. There is no waiting in line. The RBK business outlet estimated in 2020 that Russian commercial airlines lost USD 1.7 billion. S7 slashed a third of its workforce.Russia's super rich have seen their net worth increase 20% in the pandemic according to PwC.The Fixer is a Russian concierge service. It advises on visas. Wealthy Russians often obtain citizenship by invest in Malta or Cyprus. 3,000 Cypriot passports were issued this way from 2013-18. About half went to Russians. Russians sometimes obtain medical permits from EU hotels. For a fat fee the person is given a medical certificate from a clinic allowing the person into the country for medical care. This happens a lot in Italy. Sirius Aero said 70% of its clients flying to Italy used medical certificates as a way in. Those who are issued with certificates do not always need treatment. Sometimes they are issued to the unvaccinated. Sputnik V is accepted in Greece and Slovakia but nowhere else.There is also a 100% incr...