Flying over Kaliningrad?
 

For some time ago, i planned a VFR trip to fly with a friend. One part of the trip would be flying from Gdansk, Poland to Palanga, Lithuania.. and my tracks on the map were all over Kaliningrad :E . But I felt unsure about it and decided to call Gdansk info... so I asked ''Is it ok then to fly over Kaliningrad?'' and she said ..''No,no! I dont think it is a good idea to fly over Kaliningrad!!!'' Never got to know anything more about it.. We changed our minds and plans and flew to Sweden instead..

But I still want to know what is it with that small russian devil's hole? Is anybody allowed to fly there? Are they going to shoot you down if you try? Are they hiding half of Russias nuclear warheads there?? (sure..!! :oh: ) Anybody having any experience of this kind?

You'll need a permit. I think there may be some caveat if you are not over the landmass (the FIR stretches out over the sea quite a bit) but can't remember off the top of my head.

If you need help arranging one, send me a PM! :ok:

Nothing mysterious about it, it's just part of Russia. Whether or not you want to go to the expense and hassle of getting a permit is up to you, but I would guess that flying around it makes more sense. IIRC it remained part of Russia after the breakup of the USSR due to its port which is useable in the winter, and because of its supply of amber, used in the reconstruction of the Amber Room in St. Petersburg. I've flown over it before on flights to and from Asia when we had a permit to fly over the rest of Russia anyway, and no one tried to shoot us down!

Thanks for the info guys! I didnt know you needed a permit to fly over russian FIR.. very interesting!! :ok: