Alaska Airlines Cancels Flight To City In Russia's Far East

ANCHORAGE - Alaska Airlines, which began service to the Siberian city of Petropavlovsk on June 10, has canceled Saturday's flight after unexpectedly being denied access to land.

Once-a-week flights had been planned, but the airline said it has been told that Russian authorities had not formally approved the airport for international flights.

Alaska is working with the U.S. State Department to resolve its status, spokesman Lou Cancelmi said. He said the airline believed it had proper clearances before adding the stop.

The area houses military aircraft and is a commercial fishing center. One flight has landed there, but since then, the Alaska airplanes have not been allowed to land.

The airline has been flying to the Russian Far East for the past five years and also offers flights to Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Magadan from Anchorage.