Flights between Delhi and Moscow have been suspended by Air India, with the last flight departing on March 31.
After a six-hour journey, AI 195, a Boeing 787-8, took off from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) at 14:41 and landed at Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport (SVO) at 18:19.
Air India used to operate a twice-weekly Boeing 787 service on the route before it was suspended.
While the suspension was widely reported in India's media, it appears that Russia's embassy in New Delhi was the first to report it.
According to the embassy, which was reported by the Russian news outlet TASS on April 6, "Dear fellow citizens. We draw your attention that the Indian airline Air India has stopped selling tickets on the Delhi-Moscow-Delhi route, the prospects for resuming flights of this airline to Russia are uncertain at this moment."
The Russian embassy, ever the opportunist, adds that "it is now feasible to travel from India to Russia through transit routes via Tashkent, Istanbul, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, and other places."
"The airline's office has declined to comment on this case," Tass concludes the advise.
As a result, the Russian embassy in New Delhi has become the de-facto Air India publicity office as well as a travel counsellor for anybody interested in flying to Russia.
