Uzbekistan Airways has been carrying out flights to Europe bypassing Russian airspace for over a week, the airline's CEO Shukhrat Khudaykulov said.
"We began operating flights to Europe bypassing Russian territory on January 20. Flights now go further south, via Azerbaijan and Turkey," Khudaykulov said.
According to him, the decision followed a recommendation by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency on flights over Russia's European territory, since the airline provides services to European passengers among others.
"This lengthens flight time by 30-40 minutes in one direction and incurs additional costs for the company," Khudaykulov said.
The Uzbekistan Airways CEO noted the airline had not put its fares up, despite this.