Moscow — The Russian aviation industry will have to make do without 19 million passengers in the current year due to the flight bans imposed by Moscow in southern Russia and Western sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine war.
That represents one-fifth of the planned total number of passengers, business newspaper Vedomosti reported on Monday, citing theTransporation Ministry.
The Russian aviation industry is one of the hardest hit by the war in Ukraine.
Airspace over Europe and North America is closed to Russia, while Western sanctions also prohibit the supply and maintenance of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, which are the backbone of Russian airlines.
Moscow has therefore decided to re-register many aircraft and suspended air traffic to a number of states for fear the jets could be confiscated.
In addition, the Russian government has imposed flight bans over the south of its own country since February due to the ongoing fighting.
Eleven airports cannot be used, including those in the Black Sea resorts of Anapa and Gelendzhik as well as the one in Simferopol on Crimea, which has been annexed by Russia since 2014.
The consequences are serious, especially in the holiday months: In June, the airlines lost 2.7 million passengers; in July and August, a shortfall of 3.2 and 3.3 million passengers is looming.
The Russian leadership has promised the airlines state aid of 100 billion roubles ($1.7 billion).
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