Moscow seems to be in turmoil after the partial mobilization announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday morning.
According to Reuters, in the wake of this announcement, one-way flights from Russia have skyrocketed in recent hours.
Although Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has indicated that conscription will be limited to only those with experience as professional soldiers, online searches to buy tickets for “escape” flights have seen an alarming rise.
In particular, the agency, citing data from Google Trends, reports that there is a sharp increase in searches on Aviasales, the most popular website in Russia for searching and buying air tickets.
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In fact, as reported, the seats on direct flights to Constantinople and Yerevan (in Turkey and Armenia, i.e. destinations that do not require a visa), have been sold out, according to Aviasales data.
Meanwhile, some routes including those from Moscow to Tbilisi, Georgia, were also unavailable, while the cheapest flights from the Russian capital to Dubai cost more than 300,000 rubles ($5,000), about five times the average monthly salary.
