Delta Suspends Partnership With Russian Airline After Ukraine Invasion

ATLANTA, GA — Delta Air Lines is cutting its ties with a Russia-based airline.

As a result of the Russian military invasion of Ukraine last week, Delta announced that the airline withdrew its codeshare agreement with the Russian national airline Aeroflot.

A codeshare agreement provides customers with enhanced customer service, a single ticket and through check-in of bags to their final destination. Codeshare flights could be purchased through Delta’s or Aeroflot’s respective websites. Through the former partnership, passengers would be able to buy one ticket for a Delta destination which allows for a connecting flight on Aeroflot. And their luggage would follow them.

“We have removed our code from Aeroflot-operated services beyond Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport and removed Aeroflot’s code from Delta-operated services from Los Angeles and New York-JFK,” a statement from the Atlanta-based airline said. “Accommodations will be made for customers affected by these changes.”

Delta has no direct flights to Russia or to Ukraine.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp last week condemned the Russian attack on Ukraine, calling it “indefensible” and and “aggression of tyrants,” and praying for a swift end.

Other Georgia-based companies have made changes to their business practices both in Ukraine and in Russia. Coca-Cola HBC, a Swiss bottling company associated with the Atlanta-based soft drink giant, is shutting down its Ukrainian bottling facility, Bloomberg is reporting.

As NATO allies and the global community levy sanctions against Russia, Secureworks — the Dell Computing-owned cybersecurity firm based in Sandy Springs — warns companies to beware of retaliatory online attacks. “In retaliation, there is the potential for reprisal cyberattacks conducted by Russian government-backed groups or independent pro-Russia threat actors against organizations involved in implementing those sanctions,” Secureworks said on its website’s FAQ on the Ukrainian crisis.