Ministry: Airlines’ passenger traffic to grow by 7–8% in 2020

MOSCOW, Feb 5 (PRIME) -- Russia’s passenger traffic of national airlines will grow by 7–8% on the year in 2020, Transport Minister Yevgeny Ditrikh told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of the National Aviation Infrastructure Show.

“In 2020, we expect the growth of about 7–8%,” Ditrikh said.

In 2019, the passenger traffic increased by 10.3% to 128.1 million people.

When asked about financial results of airlines for 2019, he said, “As of today, these estimates are only approximate, and we will make the final forecasts closer to March. In general, many airlines may have even improved their profits thanks to the increase in passenger traffic. The combined result is a slight increase.”

The government will also discuss creation of an airline for the Far Eastern regions very soon. The ministry has submitted its suggestions to the government, but it is now unclear if a company would be created on the basis of an existing carrier or who would operate the company, he said.

FLIGHTS TO CHINA

The Russian government limited flights to China on February 1, permitting only regular flights of national flagship carrier Aeroflot from the F terminal of the Sheremetyevo airport in Moscow.

So far, the government has no plans to sever air links with China fully. “The issue of complete closing air cooperation with China is not on the agenda,” Ditrikh said.

“Under the model that has formed by now, there is a single specialized terminal in Sheremetyevo that handles all passengers that fly to Russia from China and a significant portion of transit passengers. The model satisfies everyone here,” he said.

Still, the government is discussing compensation of losses to the airlines from suspension of flights, he said.

Aeroflot will carry about 1,400 passengers of another airline, S7 Group, from China to Russia. The government also agreed with Aeroflot and Russian Railways to transport passengers from the Sheremetyevo airport to their initial destination points free of charge.

“We’ve agreed with Russian Railways and Aeroflot that our citizens that planned to fly to Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, (and other regions) and had the tickets, but ended up in Sheremetyevo due to the reasons of restriction, that Aeroflot and Russian Railways will carry them to their destinations free of charge after they have passed all procedures mentioned by the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare Oversight,” he said.

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