China and Russia sign MoU on air services

Civil Aviation Administration of China and Russia's Ministry of Transport signed (29-Sep-2023) a MoU in Sep-2023. Highlights include:

• Russian designated airlines will be allowed to make technical stops for refuelling at Chinese airports. The Russian delegation stated it would apply for daytime slots at Chinese airports for technical stops;
• Designated Russian airlines may exercise unlimited third and fourth freedom traffic rights from/to Haikou and Sanya. Designated Chinese airlines may exercise unlimited third and fourth freedom traffic rights from/to Vladivostok, Ulan Ude and Kaliningrad (until 2025 for Kaliningrad). The frequencies operated by the designated airlines of Russia from/to Haikou and Sanya and the frequencies operated by the designated airlines of China from/to Vladivostok, Ulan Ude and Kaliningrad in Russia shall not be counted against the relevant frequency entitlements;
• The Russian delegation asked to extend the rules for the preservation of historical slots of Russian carriers in slot coordinated airports in China until the end of the IATA summer 2025 schedule. The delegations confirmed the possibility to apply the rules until the end of summer 2024, on the basis of reciprocity;
• The Russian delegation asked to issue permits to Aeroflot for Moscow-Sanya service and to Rossiya - Russian Airlines for Krasnoyarsk-Sanya, Irkutsk-Harbin, Krasnoyarsk-Beijing and Vladivostok-Beijing services. The Chinese delegation asked for permits for Hainan Airlines to operate scheduled Sanya-Moscow service and for YTO Cargo Airlines to operate scheduled all cargo Hangzhou-Moscow service.
• The Russian delegation proposed to Chinese air carriers to commence services to Sochi, Kaliningrad and Kazan. [more - original PR]