Sabre Is Ending its Agreement with Russian Carrier Aeroflot

Sabre will no longer do business with Aeroflot, the largest government-majority owned carrier in Russia.

Sabre made the announcement on Thursday, writing that it was taking “immediate” steps to remove Aeroflot flight content from its GDS because of its growing concerns over what is happening in Ukraine.

The GDS provider says it will continue to monitor the situation and “will evaluate whether additional actions would be appropriate.”

“Sabre has been monitoring the evolving situation in Ukraine with increasing concern. From the beginning, our primary focus has been the safety of our team members in the impacted region, as well as doing our part to support the much-needed relief efforts,” Sean Menke, CEO of Sabre, said in a statement.

“We are taking a stand against this military conflict. We are complying, and will continue to comply, with sanctions imposed against Russia. In addition, today we announced that Sabre has terminated its distribution agreement with Aeroflot, removing its content from our GDS.”

Sabre, which has about 1,500 employees in Poland, has already donated $1 million to the Polish Red Cross, which helps with supporting displaced people, a now growing population of people in Eastern Europe.

Headquartered in Moscow, Aeroflot is the largest airline in Russia, flying to 146 destinations across 52 countries prior to the invasion of Ukraine. The carrier was founded in 1923, which makes it one of the oldest active airlines in the world, and had, at one time, been a state-owned enterprise of the USSR. At one point, it was also one of the largest carriers in the world. 

Since the invasion, the European Union, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States all banned Russian airlines, including Aeroflot, from their airspace, which effectively stopped much of Aeroflot’s international routes. The carrier is still operating, albeit in a limited capacity, from Moscow, Sochi, and more, according to FlightAware.