Has anyone ever noticed her teeth..they look quite sharp..very odd looking
'Literally on the tarmac': Russia prevents Americans in Moscow from flying home
Russian officials prevented the departure of a commercial passenger jet carrying Americans “anxious to get home” as the coronavirus pandemic worsens in both countries, according to State Department officials. “It was literally on the tarmac, taxiing, when it was denied permission to take off,” said Ian Brownlee, who is coordinating State Department efforts to repatriate Americans stranded overseas. "The Russian government apparently denied it permission to take off.”
The unexpected cancellation took place Friday on the same day that at least one of Moscow’s three international airports announced that it is closing its “international flights gallery” in response to a “shutdown of air service with foreign nations.” The decision blindsided U.S. diplomats in Moscow, who had spent the hours leading up to the scheduled departure alerting Americans that they had the option to book a ticket on that flight. “The flight was full of US citizens anxious to get home,” U.S Embassy Moscow spokeswoman Rebecca Ross tweeted Friday. “We are awaiting an explanation from the Russian Federation. We continue to work to find ways to help US citizens return home.” The coronavirus pandemic has necessitated a global evacuation effort, with roughly 37,000 Americans returning to the United States from overseas before a wave of travel restrictions makes it impossible to do so. About 17,000 of those people flew home on “commercial rescue flights” coordinated between the State Department and U.S.-based airlines.
“Our U.S. Embassy and consulates supported by our economic team across the world secured the landing permits and special permissions after those countries closed their borders and airspace, and we got those permissions for these new commercial rescue flights,” Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation Hugo Yon told reporters Friday. “These commercial rescue flights met repatriation needs in many countries, freeing up the bandwidth of the department to focus on the U.S.-government funded charters on the most difficult locations where airspace, border closures, and internal curfews have been the most severe,” he added.
Aeroflot, which operates the canceled flight, is owned by the Russian government. Russia has more than 4,100 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 34 deaths attributed to the infectious disease. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that a "nationwide nonwork week" will continue until at least April 30. Russia is also expected to "halt flights returning its nationals from abroad after midnight Saturday," according to local media. U.S. Embassy officials are trying to arrange charter flights for the Americans stranded by the Friday cancellation. “This will require the coordination and approval of the Government of the Russian Federation,” Ross tweeted Friday. “This can be a complex process and may require several days to accomplish.”
Brownlee, the second-highest-ranking official in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, reiterated his recommendation that Americans who are currently overseas register with the State Department’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and return to the U.S. as soon as possible unless they are prepared to stay abroad indefinitely. “With regard to Russia, this is a good example of what we've been saying, that people should avail themselves of existing commercial opportunities because they do go away at some point,” said Brownlee. “We have not had to repatriate people from Russia until now.”
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/literally-on-the-tarmac-russia-prevents-americans-in-moscow-from-flying-home
Strange teeth…