Delta Stops Codesharing with Russian Carrier Aeroflot

In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Delta Air Lines has halted its codesharing agreement with the national airline, Aeroflot, as several Baltic and European countries closed their airspace to Russian flights.

Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, announced on Friday that it has paused the codesharing system that allowed customers of both Delta and Aeroflot to book flights across both airlines.

In a statement, Delta noted, “We have withdrawn our code from Aeroflot flights beyond Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and have also removed Aeroflot’s code from Delta flights departing from Los Angeles and New York-JFK. We will assist customers impacted by these changes,” adding that the airline does not operate flights to Ukraine or Russia.

This suspension of codesharing followed Britain’s decision on Thursday to prohibit Aeroflot from entering its airspace.

Aeroflot has yet to respond to an email request for comment sent to its communications department on Saturday.

On Saturday, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania declared that they would close their airspace to Russian airlines. Slovenia and the Czech Republic followed suit due to the invasion of Ukraine.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas tweeted that Western countries should economically and politically isolate Russia, stating, “There is no place for the planes of the aggressor state in democratic airspace.”

The Slovenian government announced that its ban extends to all aircraft registered in Russia and to operators based in Russia with appropriate licenses from Russian authorities.

Czech Transport Minister Martin Kupka stated that the Czech Republic’s decision reflects a commitment to “intensifying our measures against Russian aggression in Ukraine.”