Delta suspends codeshare with Russian carrier Aeroflot
Delta Air Lines said on Friday that it had suspended its codeshare with Aeroflot, the Russian flagship airline.
The suspended codeshare came a day after the United States announced new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Aeroflot is majority-owned by the Russian government.
While both airlines are members of the SkyTeam alliance, the codeshare agreement between them is relatively small compared to the codeshares between Delta and other SkyTeam members, such as Air France and KLM.
Delta puts its code on 12 daily Aeroflot flights between Moscow and other cities in Russia, according to data from aviation schedule database Cirium, while Aeroflot puts its code on up to 36 daily Delta flights from Los Angeles (LAX) and New York (JFK).
The codeshare allows passengers to connect onward with either airline when traveling from the U.S. to Moscow, or from Russia to New York or Los Angeles. Additionally, a codeshare such as this one means that passengers can check their bags through to their final destinations when traveling on codeshare flights.
With the codeshare no longer in place, Delta said that accommodations would be made for any affected passengers.
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On Thursday, the United Kingdom prohibited Russian airlines from landing or flying within its airspace, revoking Aeroflot's foreign carrier permit and canceling the airline's daily service between Moscow and London (LHR).
The United States did not ban the airline as part of the suite of sanctions announced Thursday. Aeroflot currently operates service from Moscow to New York, Los Angeles, Miami (MIA) and Washington Dulles (IAD). The Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday prohibited U.S. airlines from flying over Ukraine, Belarus, or parts of Western Russia.