Even though Turkish Airlines isn’t cutting any routes, the airline has stopped selling tickets for travel from Russia to Mexico, in a move that’s sure to ruffle some feathers…
Turkish Airlines adds restrictions on Mexico flights
For travel through July 31, 2024, Turkish Airlines has stopped selling tickets from all cities in Russia to all cities in Mexico. There’s no official announcement for this, but when you go to Turkish Airlines’ website to book a ticket, you’ll notice that all itineraries from Russia to Mexico show as being sold out.
You can still book tickets between any city in Russia and Istanbul, and separately book a ticket between Istanbul and any city in Mexico. Instead, this restriction just applies to selling flights between any potential city pairs when originating in Russia.
As you’ll see, as of August 1, 2024, flights are once again bookable as expected. It remains to be seen how this plays out, and if the restriction remains in place through July 31, if it’s eliminated earlier, or if it’s extended.
Note that this block on ticket sales is one-way. It’s not an issue to book a ticket from Mexico to Russia on Turkish Airlines, so this is a restriction on the origin.
Why Turkish Airlines is blocking ticket sales to Mexico
Last week I wrote about how Russia was warning its citizens about the risk of booking Turkish Airlines flights to Latin America. Authorities claimed that Turkish Airlines has repeatedly denied boarding to Russians traveling to Latin American countries, without an explanation for why.
Now, it seems pretty clear what’s going on — there has been an uptick in Russians seeking asylum abroad. A significant number of Russians are trying to immigrate to the United States, and are starting the journey via Mexico.
So presumably at the request of authorities in Mexico, airline officials have been trying to determine the intent with which people are traveling. Those with suspicious travel patterns, like booking one-way tickets, traveling with limited bags, not having proof of funds, etc., have been denied boarding.
Russian authorities demanded that Turkish Airlines provide an explanation for why it’s denying boarding to some passengers, and clearly wanted an apology. Turkish Airlines has now responded by simply not selling these kinds of tickets anymore.
It goes without saying that Turkish Airlines has no incentive to complicate things here — airlines make money by transporting people, and Russia and Türkiye are on good terms. So clearly the Russian government is just trying to play dumb to the fact that many people are seeking asylum, as if it’s a mystery why people are being denied boarding.
I am curious if we see this escalate politically, since I can’t imagine Russian authorities will be too happy about this move.
Bottom line
Turkish Airlines has stopped selling tickets between Russia and Mexico, even though the airline isn’t making any changes to its schedule. In recent weeks, Russian authorities have expressed frustration at citizens being denied boarding on flights to Latin America, and have demanded an explanation. Now the airline has responded by simply no longer selling these kinds of tickets.
What do you make of Turkish Airlines no longer selling tickets from Russia to Mexico?