Russian aviation industry is about to witness strong passenger recovery in 2023 as per Cirium data. Cirium has projected a large increase in passengers flying on Russian airlines throughout 2023 with seat capacity estimated to increase by 22%, however it is still 9% less than 2019 seat capacity levels.
The data is based on the seat capacity numbers in Q1 of 2023 and schedules for Q2 of 2023. This projected rise is mainly due to carriers flying to international destinations like Dubai, Istanbul, Phuket, and Antalya, among others
Like the global aviation industry Russian aviation sector also suffered major setback during the pandemic period, but post-pandemic Russia took another hit in the form of Russia-Ukraine war leading to travel and airspace restrictions imposed by many countries across the world that prevented Russian airlines from flying to those countries.
Post the invasion, all Russian carriers were banned from flying over or into the EU, the United States, Canada, and a select number of other countries as part of economic sanctions.
Russian carriers were quick to take advantage of certain countries that didn’t impose travel restrictions. Turkish Airlines and Air Serbia were two airlines that were able to continue flying into Russia and saw an immediate increase in flight prices.