Russia's Aeroflot airline said it is doubling the number of daily flights between Moscow and the Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad as the isolated region readies for the imposition of new visa requirements.
Aeroflot said tickets for the Kaliningrad flights will cost about the same as rail travel, in order to guarantee freedom of movement to Russian citizens.
Kaliningrad is cut off from the rest of Russia by Lithuania and Poland, which are set to join the European Union next year. Under EU rules people traveling to and from Kaliningrad through Lithuania and Poland will for the first time need special travel documents.
Lithuania begins requiring so-called Facilitated Transit Documents (FDTs) Tuesday. Poland has postponed imposing its visa requirements until October 1.