Southwind Airlines has been prohibited from flying its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft into Russia, reports Izvestia. US authorities have blocked the airline from flying its Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft into the country, the Russian daily reported citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Southwind Airlines was established in 2022, a few days after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
While the US cannot directly ban the airline from operating the 737 MAX between Turkey and Russia, a source close to the matter said that the US authorities either threatened sanctions against Southwind Airlines or added its 737 MAXs to the sanctioned asset list. Izvestia also reported that former Nordwind Airlines crews are flying Southwind Airlines aircraft.
Southwind Airlines or any of its aircraft are currently not included on the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list