Russia government to adjust airline routes to meet lower subsidies

MOSCOW, May 4 (PRIME) -- The Federal Air Transport Agency, Russian air carriers, and the country’s regions are adjusting the airline routes in order to maintain subsidization of flights on the most socially important directions, the agency said in a statement on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Izvestia daily reported that the airlines had started cancelling flights within Russia because of contraction of state support. An aviation industry source told PRIME that financing of regional air flights was cut by 1.4 billion rubles to around 7.6 billion rubles in 2023.

“The agency is working to adjust the route network together with the airlines and in cooperation with Russia’s regions to optimize financing of the subsidy program for regional flights with the goal of keeping the subsided flights on the most socially important directions,” the agency said.

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