MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) The Russian Association of Air Transport Operators (AEVT), a non-commercial union of Russian aircraft operators, believes that the main indicators of Russian air transport activity will reach the levels of 2019 no earlier than in the second half of 2023.
"The recovery of the main indicators of air transport activity [in Russia] to the pre-crisis level of 2019 is expected to occur no earlier than in the second half of 2023," AEVT said in a press release on Thursday.
The organization notes that air transport has been one of the most affected sectors of the Russian economy in the current conditions of the economic crisis and in the light of the spread of the coronavirus infection.
"Such a rapid reduction in the volume of the activity within one year has not been seen during any of the previous crises. The financial and economic stability of domestic airlines has significantly decreased and continues to deteriorate," AEVT said.
In 2019, Russian airlines increased passenger traffic by 10.3 percent year-on-year to 128.1 million people. In January-October 2020, as a result of the pandemic, passenger traffic of the Russian airlines decreased by 46.1 percent compared to the same period in 2019, to 59.5 million people.
The global airline industry has been one of the worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as most countries were forced to shut their borders and ground flights to curb the spread of the disease. Many airlines across the globe have been forced to make job cuts after the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
