Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot reports a sharp increase in domestic travel in August. The airline carried just 0.4% fewer passengers in the month than in August last year, signaling a recovery in domestic operations. As international routes also begin to open, the airline's future looks increasingly secure.
Domestic travel boom
Russian flag carrier Aeroflot has achieved something that other airlines can only dream of right now. In its latest operational update, covering the period until the end of August 2020, the airline reported that domestic passenger traffic is already up to pre-coronavirus levels.
Where are they going?
Although Russian vacationers normally prefer to travel further afield, Russia itself has some fantastic local resorts. According to the Moscow Times, many of these resorts saw a surge in domestic tourism as Russians looked closer to home for their summer getaways.
The largest Black Sea resort is Sochi, and the airport there saw higher than usual demand. In July, 962,000 passengers passed through the airport, five times the number they had seen in June and around 13% more than they would normally handle at this time of year.
Anapa, another Black Sea resort, was reported to have welcomed around 444,000 visitors in July. This is around 30% more than is usually expected.
In August, the restoration of international flights from Russia began.
As such, the airline saw an overall increase in passenger traffic from July to August, as well as an increase in load factor as well.
By September, the airline had added flights to Turkey, the UK and Switzerland and laid the groundwork for limited-frequency flights to the United Arab Emirates, the Maldives and Egypt.
Announced today, the airline is preparing to restart flights between Moscow and Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Belarus (Minsk) and Kazakhstan (Nur-Sultan).
Although things are looking up for the airline, it still needs confirmation of a nearly $1 billion bailout. It is seeking government guarantees for two loans worth a total of $940 million and has already secured a government grant worth $107 million.
