MIAMI (CBSMiami) Worldwide sanctions that have crippled Russias air travel industry have also stranded thousands of Russian tourists in the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
Aeroflot, the Russian State Airline, has seen all flights canceled out of South Florida and the cancelations have stretched right into South Floridas backyard.<\/p>\n
As of Thursday, there were thousands of Russian tourists stranded and struggling to fly home from the Dominican Republic and from Cuba.<\/p>\n
Zach Griff, an air travel expert and senior reporter for The Points Guy travel website said, They cant find a way back because of the air space restrictions and all the different sanctions imposed on Russia.<\/p>\n
Russians tourists flock to Cuba and the DR to escape the cold winters.<\/p>\n
The Dominican Republic received almost 184,000Russian tourists and nearly 86,000 Ukrainians in 2021, so it is not a surprise that reports are that 15,000 Russians have been stranded.<\/p>\n
There are reports that there are 3,000 Ukrainians in the Dominican Republic.<\/p>\n
The tourist could take a flight from the Caribbean to maybe London or something like that and then connect to Istanbul or Dubai and make their way back to Russia, Griff told CBS News Miami.<\/p>\n
Dominican Republic officials say they had reached a deal with hotel chains to guarantee the tourists accommodation until such time as a solution is found.<\/p>\n
But there is more to it than just airline flights suspended.<\/p>\n
This is going to be a very hard process for them. Their currency has been devalued and they will have to pay out of pocket for the cost for tickets back home.<\/p>\n
But there is a lucky break for some of the stranded Russians, Aeroflotsaid they plan to carry out and will be allowed evacuation flights from the Dominican Republic through March 10th.<\/p>\n
No word on those tourists who arrived on the various other Russian charter airlines that serve the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
Hardest hit, Aeroflot already heavily sanctioned but now, Just today, we learned that SABR which provides the ticket selling process for Aeroflot will stop supporting them.<\/p>\n
Getting Russians home will not be any easy task, said Griff.<\/p>\n
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Sanctions Strand Thousands Of Russian Tourists In The Caribbean - CBS Miami<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MIAMI (CBSMiami) Worldwide sanctions that have crippled Russias air travel industry have also stranded thousands of Russian tourists in the Caribbean. Continue reading