A head-scratcher is the route Vladimir Putin’s presidential jet will take to reach Hungary, where he will hold a summit with Donald Trump in the coming weeks.

Because of the EU sanctions, the aircraft of the Russian government, including presidential Ilyushin Il-96, they are banned from flying over most of Europe. This means that Putin’s route to Hungary must avoid the vast majority of EU member states.

Air Live outlined a possible route the Russian president might take to get to Budapest.

The direct route, which is over Ukraine is 1,500 kilometersbut there are many risks in it, and so it is possible to another aerial route is followed and she is to pass over Turkey, the Black Sea, Montenegro and Serbia. Such a flight is estimated at approximately 5,000 kilometers and lasts 3 hours.

The presidential aircraft of Russia is fully capable of long-distance flights but such a long route requires careful coordination with air traffic control of Turkey and Serbia and possible contingency plans in case of weather or diplomatic complications.

Safety experts point out, however, that the flight over the Black Sea still carries operational risks, particularly due to military activity, while the Russian president theoretically unable to reach Budapest without breaching EU measures

However, this is not the first time that the Russian president or other Kremlin officials have been forced to follow other routes to attend to international summits. Since the imposition of flight bans in Western airspace in early 2022, Russian diplomatic aircraft have been forced to detour through Central Asia, the Middle East or the Balkans to reach destinations that are a few hours away from Russia.

In June 2023, for example, the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took a detour through Iran and North Africa to reach the BRICS summit in South Africa.

So far, no official flight plan has been announced, but the Turkish-Serbian corridor appears to be the most practical route for Putin to arrive in Hungary.