The head of the Federal Air Transport Agency spoke about the stress scenario for the industry without state support

The authorities have a scenario for the development of air travel if state support stops, HEAD of the Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko told RBC.In 2022, due to record subsidies, prices for flights across the country did not grow

The Federal Air Transport Agency has developed a stress scenario in case state support for air transportation stops in the face of a budget deficit. This was stated in an interview with RBC by the head of the department, Alexander Neradko.

“Yes, we have such a stress scenario,” he said, but did not reveal its details, because the topics related to air travel are “too resonant, almost like football and medicine.”

Head of Rosaviatsia:“I propose not to use the term “cannibalization”” Business

In 2022, a record 174.2 billion rubles were allocated from the federal budget to support transportation in RUSSIA. Thanks to this, Russian airlines transported more than 95 million people last year, despite the temporary closure of 11 airports in the south, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on January 24. According to Savelyev, in 2023, airlines plan to carry a total of more than 101 million passengers.

But the Ministry of Transport plans to reduce the amount of subsidies this year. This is possible thanks to systematic work on the purchase of imported aircraft from foreign lessors, Savelyev explained. “Part of the airlines (for example, Aeroflot) bought the aircraft, which means that the cost of leasing and support is being reduced, it may not be needed in this amount,” agrees Neradko. But the Federal Air Transport Agency is “monitoring the situation” and, if necessary, will come up with proposals for additional state support for the industry, he notes.

In the winter season of 2022-2023, an additional 25.3 billion rubles have been allocated from the federal budget to support flights within Russia. Of these, the Aeroflot group received 11.6 billion (in addition to the airline of the same name, it includes the low-cost carrier Pobeda and the carrier Rossiya), follows from the materials of the Federal Air Transport Agency. From November to March, it is traditionally more difficult for all airlines, and even more so in the current circumstances, Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky said in an interview with RBC at the end of December 2022. “In the summer season of 2023, we will already manage on our own, by improving our own operational efficiency,” he promised. In the unified Far Eastern airline Aurora, they even believe that the air transportation industry should work without state support, as it was before the CORONAVIRUS pandemic.

But thanks to state support for flights within Russia, ticket prices did not rise in the summer of 2022, despite the increase in airline operating costs, Savelyev said at another meeting with Putin in November. “During the high season of transportation, the average economy class fare on domestic flights was reduced. At the end of June <...> its size decreased by 10% compared to 2021, in July - by 6% and in August - by 2%, ”he reported.

Read pioneerprodukt.by "Broken" genes: how to know for sure your predisposition to cancer The most significant changes in public procurement: what to expect from 2023 If you were denied a job,try sending your resume again How the legendary MMA fighter Nurmagomedov dropped 10 kg in two months

But in 2023, there will still be an increase in prices for air tickets, at least at the level of inflation, Aleksandrovsky warned. “Within the inflation rate, tariff growth is probably possible,” agrees Neradko.