SINGAPORE, 7 March 2022: Three of the world’s leading fare distribution systems – Sabre, Travelport and Amadeus – have removed Aeroflot’s fares and booking content, a step that isolates the Russian government-owned airline from the online travel agency market worldwide.
Sabre Corporation was the first to announce it was terminating its distribution agreement with Aeroflot. In the press statement, it said it had taken “immediate steps to remove Aeroflot flight content from its global distribution system (GDS), a marketplace used by travel agencies, travel websites and corporations around the world to shop, book and service flight reservations.”
Sabre’s CEO Sean Menke said: “Sabre has been monitoring the evolving situation in Ukraine…We are taking a stand against this military conflict complying, and will continue to comply, with sanctions imposed against Russia.”
The termination means Aeroflot flights no longer appear on Global Distribution System screens in travel agencies, online travel agencies, travel management companies and other wholesale and retail ticket sales outlets worldwide.
To help support the humanitarian programme in the region, Sabre, which has approximately 1,500 team members in Poland, has donated USD1 million to the Polish Red Cross to purchase food, hygiene products and sleeping bags and will support the provision of medical assistance to those seeking shelter in Poland.
In a press statement posted on its website newsroom, Amadeus, a Spanish headquartered GDS, confirmed effective 3 March it ended any new planned commercial projects in Russia.
“We will not sign any new contracts in Russia, and we continue to evaluate our existing portfolio of work in Russia in parallel, the statement read.
“We can confirm that we have begun suspending the distribution of Aeroflot fares in our systems. At the same time, we continue to assess and evaluate the potential impact of international sanctions imposed on Russia and any counter-measures by Russia.”
Phocuswire.com reported at the weekend that Travelport, a global distribution system headquartered in the UK, had also suspended Aeroflot’s fare and bookings content. A Travelport released an official statement on 7 March.
It read: “Like most companies and the world at large, Travelport has been closely monitoring the developing situation in Ukraine. We have been shocked and saddened by the events taking place, and our first priority continues to be the safety and security of our employees and our partners in the region. We have been diligently working alongside global governments to continue to uphold the sanctions imposed against Russia. Additionally, we have taken the decision to immediately suspend Aeroflot sales from the platform.”
(Sources: Sabre, Amadeus,Phocuswire, Travelport)
