Despite the suspension of regular international flights by the Russian authorities on 27 March, A-Group's FBOs in Moscow's Sheremetyevo and St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airports are continuing to provide the full range of services for business aviation passengers and aircraft flying under current conditions.

Considering the restrictions imposed, the Federal Air Transport Agency has defined a special procedure for coordinating international business flights. Applications for flights by aircraft with a passenger capacity of less than 20 seats now must be submitted at least 24 hours before the planned arrival, and must contain details of all passengers and crew; these applications are then considered individually.

The arrival of international business flights into Moscow is only permitted at Sheremetyevo International Airport.

In accordance with the Administrative Regulations on Sanitary Quarantine Control, passengers must undergo all necessary checks and health controls. When the emergency regime was introduced in Moscow region, the Moscow Sheremetyevo FBO was already prepared with preventative measures to ensure epidemiological safety. Quarantine control staff and doctors are on duty 24/7 and check the health status of all passengers by remotely measuring each passenger's temperature and conducting a survey; if necessary, staff issue an order for self-isolation or observation.

Its terminal is equipped with sanitisers and hygiene products, information materials and medical masks. Rooms in the terminal are thoroughly cleaned after each flight, and arriving luggage is also subjected to sanitary treatment. All FBO staff have a daily medical check-up, while the use of personal protective equipment and hygiene measures is mandatory. The same measures are also in place in Terminal A of Pulkovo International Airport.

In March and April there was a projected decrease in passenger traffic, especially in international traffic. At the same time, statistics on the number of flights into Sheremetyevo and Pulkovo showed a much smaller decrease than the industry average in Russia and Europe.

“The main tasks of our infrastructure in the current circumstances are to protect the health of passengers and staff, as well as to ensure the seamless maintenance of flights in compliance with all procedures and directives issued by Federal Air Transport Agency, ICAO and other industry regulators. Business aviation in general, and our terminals in particular, allow us to provide not only exceptional passenger safety in every way, but also social distancing, which plays an important role in preventing the spread of the virus,” comments Sergey Semenov, president of A-Group company.