Foreign airlines have occupied 40% of the Russian international transportation market, which exceeds historical levels, according to Andrey Chikhanchin, First Deputy General Director of Aeroflot. According to him, in July 2024, Russian airlines carried 2.7 million passengers on international flights, while foreign carriers carried 1.9 million.
In total, over the seven months of 2024, Russian airlines carried 15.1 million passengers abroad, and foreign airlines carried 10.3 million. Andrey Napolnov, Director of Investor Relations at Aeroflot, noted that the share of foreign airlines in international transportation increased from 25.7% in 2019 to 42% in 2022, but decreased to 40% this year. The Aeroflot Group was able to increase its share on international routes to 28%.
The situation in the international transportation market changed after the introduction of Western sanctions in 2022, when many countries closed their airspace to Russian airlines. As a result, Russian air carriers lost access to more profitable international destinations and faced the need to return leased aircraft.
Despite the difficulties, the market shows a high occupancy rate (89.4%) for Russian airlines, which indicates a shortage of carrying capacity. The Ministry of Transport of Russia emphasizes that it will continue to work to increase the mobility of the population, holding consultations with the aviation authorities of other countries.
At the same time, airlines from the CIS have increased flights to Russia. The largest number of flights are operated from Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Armenia. Citizens of these countries also make up a significant part of the inbound flow to Russia. From countries outside the CIS, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of trips from China, but the lack of a sufficient number of charter flights limits the development of group tourism between the countries.
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