Russia launches flights to Crimea from Vladivostok

The first direct flight from Russia to Crimea took off on Saturday morning carrying 500 passengers. The plane carried mainly Russian holidaymakers and departed from Vladivostok's International airport in the far east of the country.

It was due to land at Crimea's Simferopol airport 10 hours later.

With international flights put on hold due to coronavirus restrictions, the Director General of the airport in Vladivostok hopes that two flights per week to Crimea will boost tourism.

Around 400,000 tourists have already visited Crimea since the restrictions were lifted in the region, TASS agency reported. Local officials expect 1.5 million tourists to visit Crimea in July.