If you are stranded in one of the Middle Eastern countries, your main route home now almost certainly lies through Moscow. Direct connections to the Far East are currently extremely scarce, so the capital becomes the main transit point for returning to the Far Eastern Federal District.

What are repatriation flights and how do they work

When regular air traffic is interrupted due to emergencies, the state and airlines organize repatriation flights. These are special charters aimed at bringing citizens home under closed airspace conditions. This is a joint effort of Rosaviatsia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and major Russian carriers. Lists for repatriation flights are compiled by tour operators and airlines in coordination with the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and Rosaviatsia.

If tickets were purchased directly, the carriers themselves compile the lists, and passengers are informed via SMS, email, or personal account, so airlines advise keeping phones charged and notifications enabled.

Who has priority for boarding?

The number of seats on such flights is limited, so a strict order is observed. Priority for boarding is given to passengers whose tickets have a departure date of February 28, 2026, and later.

How to return from Middle Eastern countries

If your vacation coincided with the escalation of the situation in the region, the way home will consist of two major stages: evacuation deep into Russia and the final flight to the East.

Stage 1: To Moscow (or the nearest hub)

If your vacation coincided with the escalation of the situation in the region, the way home will consist of two major stages: evacuation deep into Russia and the final flight to the East.

The first task is to get on the lists for repatriation flights. The situation changes hourly, so your course of action is as follows:

1. Check your ticket date. Currently, passengers with departure dates of February 28, March 1, and March 2 have priority for repatriation. If your departure was scheduled for March 3 or later, you will have to wait until the first wave is evacuated.

2. Contact your carrier or tour operator. If you have a tour package, your tour operator is obliged to compile lists and submit them to the airline. If you are an 'independent' tourist, check airline websites and social media. The first planes from the region have already started arriving at Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo.

3. Register with the consulate. Be sure to provide your data to the Consulate General of the Russian Federation. This is important if your visa is expiring or if you have a critical health situation.

Stage 2: To the Far East

Repatriation flights are already available to Moscow (with Aeroflot, Pobeda, S7, Ural Airlines), Krasnodar (with Aeroflot), Makhachkala (with Pobeda), Yekaterinburg and Sochi (with Ural Airlines), Kazan (Flydubai), Mineralnye Vody, Novosibirsk (completed by S7).

1. Booking tickets home. As soon as you receive confirmation of boarding a flight to Moscow, immediately start looking for further options. Many Far Eastern residents are returning simultaneously now, so the load on flights to the Far Eastern Federal District has increased.

2. If you have the opportunity, try to buy tickets to Vladivostok on Kupi.com for the nearest available dates with Aeroflot or Ural Airlines with layovers. If there are no direct tickets, check for flights to Khabarovsk or Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, monitor tickets : sometimes it's easier to fly from the Northern Capital due to less demand.

3. Waiting in Moscow. If there is a long layover between flights, remember: with a single ticket (issued through the repatriation headquarters), the airline must provide you with meals. If the tickets are separate, hotel expenses in Moscow will be yours, but you can try to claim compensation through your insurance upon return.

How to return from other countries

Dubai and Doha served as important transit points, so the closure (full or partial) of airports also affected travelers flying to the Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, and African countries. For those flying from these resorts to the Far East, there is an option to travel via the airports of China and Thailand. Most likely, in this case, you will have to make 2-3 connections, for example, in Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Harbin, or Bangkok and Beijing.

Sri Lanka has already announced visa extensions for tourists stranded in the country due to the situation in the Middle East: 'Now, tourists whose flights have been canceled can stay on the island for another 14 days without any fines or penalties. The extension will be automatic and free of charge.'

From the Seychelles, flights are operated by Aeroflot, Kenya Airways, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Seychelles, and Condor. Here, immigration authorities also met travelers halfway and announced a free extension of stay in the country for 30 days beyond the established norms for tourists in difficult situations.