Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The decision was taken after warnings from Ukraine and ICAO about the danger of flights in the Russian airspace.
National carrier Air Tanzania stopped direct flights between Dar es Salaam and Moscow from 4 September, according to Afrinz.ru.
The decision was made after a planned assessment of safety risks on this route. Its acceleration was prompted by the incident 3 in September. Then flight TC422 from Zanzibar was unable to land at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport due to temporary safety restrictions. The aircraft was diverted to Saint Petersburg.
In a statement, the airline said: “Air Tanzania continually conducts such assessments across its network, and if results indicate a need for a pause, we implement it. Safety considerations always take priority over commercial considerations.”
Passengers on the canceled flights are offered full refunds or free changes to the date or route. When flights between Dar es Salaam and Moscow will resume, the airline has not yet announced.
Direct air service on the route Dar es Salaam–Zanzibar–Moscow was launched by Air Tanzania only in 2 July 2026 year. Flights operated three times a week.
Prior to this, there were no regular direct flights between Tanzania and Russia since 2021. Air Tanzania remained the only airline that had resumed this route.
Air Tanzania’s decision was the first such step by a foreign airline amid heightened discussions about safety of flights over Russia.
According to media reports, some airlines had already changed their flights toward Russia. Among them is the Israeli El Al, which suspended flights to Moscow, and Air India, which altered routes from the United States to India to avoid Russian airspace. There were also reports of cancellations by Turkish carriers.
At the beginning of 2026, Ukraine considered the “M&M's” operation, which envisaged deploying swarms of autonomous drones to attack Moscow airports and keep the Russian airspace over the capital closed for an extended period. Zelensky at the time expressed concern that one of the drones could hit a civilian aircraft, so the operation was postponed, but preparations continued. In August, Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed that the idea of paralyzing Moscow airports existed and its implementation was still possible.
At the end of August, Zelensky publicly warned airlines, insurers and countries that the Russian airspace was becoming dangerous due to war and the use of drones and missiles by Ukraine. Kyiv then urged ICAO to take measures to ensure civil aviation safety, up to a total ban on flights over Russia. ICAO also stated that drones, air defense systems and interference with satellite navigation pose serious risks to civilian flights.
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