1 Jul 2024 20:09

Passenger traffic for Russian airlines so far expected to reach 98 mln in 2024 – Rosaviatsiya

MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax) – The number of passengers for Russian airlines is expected at the level of 98.1 million in 2024, which meets the target set in the comprehensive program for the aviation industry development through 2030, Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) head Dmitry Yadrov told reporters on Monday.

“For now, we are approaching the figure of 98.1 million. There will be a clearer understanding in August-September what will be the final figure of passenger traffic for Russian civil aviation by the end of 2024,” he said, adding that transportation rose 8% to 40.5 million over the first five months of this year.

“The forecast for passenger traffic depends on what Sibir Airline decides to do with aircraft [Airbus A320neo family] with Pratt&Whitney engines and what number of them will be withdrawn,” Yadrov added.

The A320neo aircraft are carrying a large number of passengers, but the operation of their engines “requires increased attention as operators have complained about it all over the world,” Yadrov said.

All Russian airlines will carry 98.1 million people this year, including 77.3 million domestically and 20.8 million internationally, under a comprehensive program for developing the aviation industry, which was updated in May. This is 7% lower than in 2023, when 105.4 million passengers were carried. The forecast for this year stood at 104.5 million, including 83.6 million of passengers on domestic flights, in the previous version of the document.

After the Western sanctions were imposed on the Russian aviation industry, Sibir, which operates under the S7 brand, faced difficulties in servicing the A320neo aircraft, the Kommersant newspaper reported late last year.

At the end of 2023, S7 carried only around 15.9 million passengers, which is comparable to the previous year’s figure. The company is planning to carry over 13 million passengers in 2024, S7 Group CEO Dmitry Kudelkin told reporters in June. At the same time, the company’s number of passengers from the hub in Novosibirsk will see growth, he said.

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