The First Foreign Airline Has Stopped Flying To Russia

• 4.09.2026, 11:57

Air Tanzania has suspended flights to Moscow due to security risks.

Air Tanzania has suspended flights between Dar es Salaam and Moscow, citing a risk assessment and passenger safety. It is the first foreign airline to cancel flights to Russia following a warning from Volodymyr Zelenskyy regarding the dangers of Russian airspace.

Flights TC422 and TC423 have been suspended indefinitely starting September 4, Air Tanzania announced. The company explained that it made the decision following a routine risk assessment of the route.

“Air Tanzania constantly conducts such assessments across its entire route network, and if the results indicate that a suspension is necessary, we implement it. Safety considerations always take precedence over commercial ones,” the carrier’s statement reads.

Passengers were offered a full refund, a free rescheduling to another date, or the option to choose a different route.

It is unknown when flights will resume.

Direct flights between Tanzania and Russia were only launched in July 2026—following a hiatus that began during the coronavirus pandemic. Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft were scheduled to fly three times a week on the Dar es Salaam–Moscow–Zanzibar route.

Rosaviatsiya called Air Tanzania’s entry into the market “a very positive step in improving air accessibility across the entire African continent.” Looking ahead, Russian officials were considering the possibility of extending the route to the Seychelles.

Tanzania is popular among Russians thanks to its safari parks and the resorts of Zanzibar. Air Tanzania was the only carrier operating direct flights between the two countries, according to “Baza.”