The Russian Ministry of Transport refuted reports of attempts to block the flights of Icelandic passenger airlines to Asia via Russian airspace, Interfax reported.

Earlier, the Internet newspaper "Fontanka" referring to the Icelandic edition of Turisti.is reported that the negotiations on granting transit through the Russia by Icelandic carriers have been conducted since the summer of 2017. However, no agreement was reached so far: the Russian authorities "just announced a price tag", which was $ 100 per passenger for one-way flight. The source of Turisti.is in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iceland explained the behavior of the Russian Federation by the fact that the state joined the European sanctions against certain Russian officials and businessmen involved in joining the Crimea to Russia and the war in the east of Ukraine.

The representative of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation confirmed to Interfax that within the framework of consultations in September 2017, Icelandic airlines "noted their interest in starting flights to the points of South-East Asia." As a result, two Icelandic carriers were granted the right to fly to Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Hong Kong and Shanghai using the Trans-Siberian Route System (TSM) "on standard operating conditions."

"Almost a year after the talks, Icelandic carriers have not applied for flights to these points, which indicates that Icelandic airlines are not interested in implementing the commercial rights granted, and not about the unwillingness of the Russian side to confirm such flights," the source of agency said.