Russian airport sells ‘airport experience’ without flight

You can now pay to go through airport security without flying.

A Russian airport is selling a bundle of pre-flight procedures, which does not include a flight, for any Russians missing the experience of travelling.

Anapa Airport is calling the package: “I Wanna Fly.”

The 1,500 Russian Rubles ($24) experience, involves check-in, security, waiting at the gate, and boarding a plane.

After passengers take their seats on the aircraft, they are served an in-flight meal and can even visit the cockpit.

The plane also receives a water salute, which normally only occurs for ceremonial purposes and involves the plane going underneath plumes of water sprayed by fire trucks.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency suspended all flights from Anapa Airport at the start of the country’s invasion of Ukraine in February, due to its close proximity to the border between Russia and Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula.

The “I Wanna Fly” tour is similar to when airlines around the world started offering “flights to nowhere” during the Covid-19 pandemic, however, these often did involve taking off.