Amid pandemic, Murmansk gets new flights throughout Russia

This week, new direct flights take off from Murmansk to Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod.
Growth in passengers comes as domestic tourism got a boost after borders were closed. Murmansk is one of the regions that see growth in number of Russian tourists.
Unlike previous years, passengers now have a wide selection of direct domestic routes, avoiding connecting flights via the hubs in Moscow or St. Petersburg.
Nordwind Airlines this week started to fly directly to Kazan, the regional capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. The route is operated twice a week with an Embraer E-Jet 190.
Another route launched this Wednesday by the same airline is Murmansk-Nizhny Novgorod, also that twice a week.
Additional to the above mentioned, there are this spring direct flights from Murmansk to Arkhangelsk, Anapa, Mineralnye Vody, Cherepovets, Chelyabinsk, Krasnodar, Sochi, Simferpol, Rostov-na-Don, Kaliningrad. Most flights, however, are still to Moscow and St. Petersburg with 3 to 4 flights daily.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Quebec-based Air Inuit announces new CEO, Eye on the Arctic
Finland: Cold weather perfect to pioneer electric aviation says Finnair, The Independent Barents Observer
Greenland: Air links between Canada, Alaska, Greenland & Siberia could be building blocks for economic development says Quebec Inuit leader, Eye on the Arctic
Russia: Modernizing Arctic aviation infrastructure among recommendations at Russian meeting, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Airline shutdown creates new challenges for rural Alaska, The Associated Press