Starting January 1, 2020, Pulkovo Airport will introduce the seventh-freedom rights regime for foreign airlines to fly to St. Petersburg. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation approved a list of 30 countries.
The list of approved countries for the seventh-freedom rights regime for Pulkovo Airport is divided into two subgroups:
1. Countries, for which the seventh-freedom rights regime for Pulkovo Airport can be introduced without restrictions: Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Estonia.
2. Countries for which the seventh-freedom rights regime for Pulkovo Airport can be introduced with restrictions for points of departure or arrival: Austria (all cities except Vienna), Bulgaria (only Sofia), Great Britain (all cities except London), Germany (all cities except Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, and Munich), Spain (all cities except Barcelona and Malaga), Italy (all cities except Rome and Milan), Cyprus (all cities except Larnaca and Paphos), France (all cities except Paris and Nice), Czech Republic (all cities except Prague).
The seventh-freedom rights regime allows the airline to perform flights between two foreign countries while not offering service to the carrier’s own country.
St. Petersburg is a world cultural capital and the second-largest city in Russia. The city has repeatedly been named the best destination for cultural tourism by the prestigious World Travel Awards. Since October 1, 2019, citizens of 53 countries can enter the Russian Federation via St. Petersburg on the basis of electronic visas. The visa application form must be accurately filled out in accordance with the passport in order to avoid errors and refusal to enter Russia.
Pulkovo St. Petersburg Airport is the fourth airport in Russia in terms of passenger numbers. For 11 months of 2019, Pulkovo served 18.2 million passengers, which is 8.2% more than in the same period of 2018. In 2019, St. Petersburg airport, for the fourth year in a row, became the winner of the national ‘Air Gates of Russia’ award, according to the passengers’ votes.
