Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) in Moscow has reportedly laid off 40% of its personnel due to a major drop in passenger traffic as a result of Western sanctions placed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
Approximately 7,000 airport workers have been furloughed, and their salaries have been slashed by a third.
Unverified sources revealed the information after an order signed by the airport’s management on March 16, 2022, was leaked.
The decision, which was announced by Sheremetyevo’s general director Mikhail Vasilenko, is in line with the country’s Labor Code and has been made “in connection with the imposition of sanctions against the Russian Federation and the closure of air space over the territory of a number of countries, resulting in a critical decline in passenger traffic and a decrease in the required volumes of both the production capacity and a number of human resources needed as a result.”
Russian airlines are now limited to operating internal passenger services and providing outbound services to a few countries that have not imposed sanctions on Russia.
Due to sanctions imposed on Russia as a result of its invasion of Ukraine, SVO airport’s Terminal D was recently temporarily shuttered. The shutdown was confirmed on March 11, 2022, in order to “optimize and concentrate” operations in the Northern Terminal Complex (Terminals B and C).
“Sheremetyevo International Airport, in the face of forced restrictions in the field of international air transportation and in order to optimize and concentrate production activities in the northern terminal complex (terminals B and C), suspends passenger service in terminal D from 00:00 Moscow time on March 15 this year,” the airport announced in a press release.
The arrivals and departures of international flights from Belavia, Armenia, Vietnam Airlines, Corendon Airlines, Korean Air, Mongolian Airlines, Aeroflot, Cham Wings Airlines, Air India, and Air Serbia from Terminal D were rerouted to Terminal C. Domestic flights were operated from Terminal B by Aeroflot, Rossiya Airlines, Pobeda, Yamal, Ikar, Nordwind Airlines, and Severstal Airlines.
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