Operations from Moscow Vnukovo to Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland have also declined, with the routes showing drops of 49 and 30 flights respectively versus a year earlier, and there have been 36 fewer services to London Luton, according to WingX. Some other routes have shown gains, including Vnukovo to Vienna, Paris Le Bourget and Farnborough, southwest of London.

‘Driving Force’

“If the situation continues to escalate there’s a danger that the Russians will stay away completely,” Jens Dreyer, managing director at Frankfurt-based Aviation Broker GmbH, said in an interview. “Without them, everything will go down the drain. They’re the driving force in the industry.”

Dreyer, whose company arranges more than 1,000 flights a year, said he rates Moscow Vnukovo “the most important airport for business aviation in Europe.”

Gennady Timchenko, co-founder of oil trader Gunvor Group Ltd., has grounded a Gulfstream model made by business-jet arm of General Dynamics Corp. as a result of U.S. and Canadian sanctions, the ITAR-TASS news agency reported last month, citing an interview. Stuart Leasor, a U.K.-based spokesman for Timchenko, said the billionaire had no comment.

Broad Impact

The impact of sanctions appears to be extending beyond those companies and individuals singled out, with other Russian business leaders actively avoiding travel to deal with issues such as Russia’s retaliatory ban on imports of meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables and dairy items from the EU and U.S., according to Debevoise & Plimpton.

With the EU extending sanctions, and loopholes in existing visa bans and asset freezes being closed, private jet providers and their supply chain could face a tougher future, said George Galanopoulos, managing director of London Executive Aviation, a U.K.-based charter-plane operator.

“In our industry more or less everyone would get affected by deeper sanctions,” he said. “Handling agents, airports -- everything down to the shuttle company that picks up these guys from the airport and takes them into the city.”

Russians have been especially important in bolstering the top-end segment of private aviation by flying short hops in Gulfstream IV and V jets which had previously been confined mainly to intercontinental flights, said Adam Twidell, chief executive officer of PrivateFly, a British on-line jet broker.