Despite all the sanctions, flights to and from Russia are booming. And this despite the fact that almost all western airlines have stopped their flights to the war country.
Because Russians can still fly to 35 countries. For example to Ethiopia, China, Israel, Maldives, United Arab Emirates, Sri Lanka or Turkey. Conversely, planes still travel from these destinations to Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities.
This business is booming despite the war, according to a report published in the pro-government Russian newspaper Izvestia, according to aviation portal Aerotelegraph.ch. Between January and September 2022, the number of passengers increased by 11 percent to 21.7 million.
However, the newspaper admits that this is mainly due to the catching effect of Corona. During this period, the number of passengers in Europe increased by 20 percent.
Another bitter drop to Russia: flights are now predominantly operated by foreign companies. So far this year, they have carried 8.7 million passengers to and from Russia. Last year it was 4 million. On the other hand, the number of passengers carried by Russian airlines decreased to 13 million. That’s minus 16 percent. (pbe)