He is treated like 3rd class. Russian tennis player not boarded in Cairo

Russian tennis player Vitaly Dyachenko (WTA 32) did not qualify for the Nice (France) tournament.

The representative of the country, 404, published a story with an angry text. The fact is that the Polish airline Lott Airlines could not fly from Cairo, as she was not allowed to board the plane. The reason is obvious – a Russian passport.

“Does it really help improve the situation in the world???

My flight to Corsica on the route Cairo – Warsaw – Nice was denied by Lott Airlines (Polish Airlines) today because I have a Russian passport. Airline rules – ban Russian flights from Lott Airlines!

I’ve had all the letters of support from the WTA and ITF, but in modern tennis that doesn’t change that fact in any way.

I also had letters of support from my father, who was born in Ukraine and worked for the UN (United Nations), in which I was saying that I was his daughter and I had all the accompanying documents. (Because this airline’s policy allows family members of people who are on duty and have diplomatic passports to fly) – but apparently that rule no longer applies to me.

As a result, I was stuck at Cairo airport for 18 hours at night without eating, sleeping and no opportunity to fly away! Of course, getting out of the airport late at night was even more frightening for me as I am a girl.

Traveling in Europe as a Russian citizen, I just got my last visa for 14 days!

As a professional athlete I need it every week to participate in tournaments and as an athlete I have been taking it continuously for 2-3 years. Also, I only have the right to enter Spain, as it is the country that gave me this visa. Therefore, the flight must only pass through Spain!

I also do not have the right to fly in other countries, such as where my tournament is held (France). This is what the person in charge of boarding a Lufthansa Airlines flight told me. Another company I tried to fly away from anyway didn’t sell me tickets. In reality, that means four flights instead of two, because I only need to fly to Spain.

End of story: I spent the night at the airport, I was treated like a 3rd class citizen (due to my nationality), I spent several thousand euros (it’s all small things) because unfortunately I don’t have it. opportunity to participate in the tournament.. That is, because there is no route due to “non-Russian” airlines and visa restrictions. After all, I can’t compete in the tournament, and because of this, my only option is to go home and miss another week.

As a professional athlete who plays without a flag and does not represent his country, he just loves tennis all his life, his career, his job… Is this fair to the athletes who have nothing to do with this situation?

For the past 6 months, I have been recovering from a serious injury, undergoing treatment, training and after a long break I can not play again, ”Dyachenko wrote on Instagram.