Return from Turkey turned for Petrozavodsk forced stop in Minsk

Ekaterina and Artem Supranovich, returning home from Antalya, did not end as planned. The family, waiting to be replenished, took off on a Turkish flight on Saturday evening, October 17. However, it was not possible to reach the final destination - St. Petersburg. Due to a massive UAV attack on the Leningrad region at night, the sky over Pulkovo was closed, and about 3:30 in the morning the commander of the aircraft announced an emergency landing in the capital of Belarus.

As Catherine said, the situation quickly became critical. On board were more than two hundred people, including the elderly, children and women. After a two-hour wait in the cabin, passengers were asked to leave the plane with their luggage, as it became clear that departure was not possible anytime soon.

Initially, the tourists expected that Turkish Airlines would promptly deliver them to Pulkovo as soon as the situation in the sky normalized. However, after passing customs control at the airport of Minsk, it turned out that there is no clear information about the fate of the flight. The situation escalated when the representative of the airport said that the Belarusian side only ensured the safety of the landing, and further movement is a personal concern of passengers.

People were trapped: train tickets were sold out, and airfare prices soared to 150-170 thousand rubles. Many began to look for alternative ways in panic, dropping off in taxis or minivans to St. Petersburg, the cost of which reached 800 euros. The situation was complicated by contradictory information: travel agencies referred to the airline’s website, which indicated that the flight would take place in the evening, while the airport administration insisted on the impossibility of departure. As a result, the plane did fly to Pulkovo, but empty.

The settlement came after the intervention of officials. The Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov, representatives of the Ministry of Transport and the leadership of the airline arrived at the airport. There were about 250 people in the terminal. Passengers were provided with food, and the Russian consulate took control of the situation.

As a result, the issue was resolved in an organized manner: buses and additional cars for the evening train were prepared for the Russians. On the morning of October 19, tourists safely arrived at the Vitebsk station of St. Petersburg. Ekaterina noted the high level of organization by Russian diplomats and the Belarusian authorities. All the costs of the transfer were borne by the airline, and the incident, despite the stress experienced, ended safely.