Photo credit: function.mil.ru (CC BY 4.0)
About 150,000 Russian tourists are now stranded abroad because of the Western sanctions against Russian aviation. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russian embassies and airlines are helping them return to their homeland, TASS reports.
Russia's Human Rights Ombudsperson Tatyana Moskalkova said that she receives multiple requests from tourists who are stuck in different countries due to the decisions by Western countries to close the sky for Russian airlines.
According to Moskalkova, most requests for help come from Russians in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
Russians have to buy tickets for flights through third countries, and spend the night at airports. It is reported that there are difficulties with withdrawing money from bank cards.
The Russian government has started to help Russians return home. For example, assistance was provided to a group of Russian schoolchildren and teachers stuck in France. They were able to fly to Moscow via the UAE.
Requests for getting help can be sent through the round-the-clock hotline of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (+7 (495) 695-45-45), the hotline of the Federal Tourism Agency (8 (800) 200-34-11 ), (avialable 08:00 to 20:00 Moscow time,) e-mail - dskc@mid.ru.
Russkiy Mir
