The Ministry of Transport announced a possible increase in airfare by 15-30%

The Ministry of Transport predicts an increase in the cost of air tickets in Russia by 15-30% due to the lack of a decision by the authorities to subsidize transportation in the summer season of this year. This was announced by Deputy Minister Igor Chalik on April 17 at a meeting on preparations for the tourist season. His words were reported by Interfax.

The government has not yet approved the allocation of subsidies to air carriers for flights in the summer schedule, said Chalik. The summer flight program operates from the end of March to the end of October. In 2022, Russian airlines received a record 100 billion rubles. to cover the costs of transportation within the country. The funds were distributed among 32 operators. Half of these funds were received by the group “Aeroflot“(Aeroflot, Rossiya, Pobeda airlines).

“In this regard, we expect there may be an increase in the cost of transportation by about 15 to 30%. Accordingly, there will be a decrease in the number of flights,” Chalik said.

The decline in state subsidies for airlines has already led to a reduction in the number of flights, said Vladimir Poteshin, deputy head of the Federal Air Transport Agency. “Three flight subsidy programs continue to work, however, I would like to note that the budget cuts that are currently being carried out have already led to the reduction of 10,612 flights, of which 4,947 flights are in hard-to-reach regions,” he noted (cited also by Interfax).

So far, domestic operators are content with only 25.3 billion rubles allocated for the winter program (November-March). to support domestic flights. In early April, the Association of Air Transport Operators (AEVT) suggested that the Ministry of Transport consider the possibility of allocating 100 billion rubles again. Russian airlines for flights in the summer schedule, Kommersant wrote. In the context of sanctions, this will allow carriers to achieve target indicators for passenger traffic in 2023, the AEVT noted.

According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, by the end of 2023, passenger traffic is expected to increase by 6.3% year-on-year, to 101 million people. In 2022, Russian airlines carried 95.2 million passengers, which is 14% less than in 2021, according to Rosstat data. In January-February 2023, air travel decreased by 5.5% year-on-year to 13.8 million people.

Fyodor Borisov, chief expert at the HSE Institute of Economics and Transport Policy, confirms that in the absence of subsidies, the risk of rising prices and falling air travel increases. “Expenses of airlines are growing, first of all, for aircraft maintenance. A year ago, we observed a surplus of carrying capacities, it was possible to remove components from idle boards and use them for those in operation. Over time, the task will become more complicated: it will be necessary to order spare parts through third countries, which, of course, affects the cost of maintaining the park,” the expert explained.