Russian airlines’ traffic between Russia and BRICS countries grew by 70% last year compared to 2022, reaching 2.4 million passengers, Rusa Via Insider reports. Despite this increase, the number is still only 48.5% of pre-pandemic levels, even though 2019 figures were impacted by a ban on flights to popular Egyptian resorts.
At the BRICS Tourism Forum in Moscow, Dmitry Yadrov, head of Rosaviatsiya, stated that Russia currently maintains direct air service with 37 countries, including six BRICS countries – Egypt, India, Iran, China, UAE, and Ethiopia.
“The volume of passenger transportation with the BRICS countries in 2023 amounted to 10% of the total volume of passengers transported to international destinations,” Yadrov said.
In 2023, destinations in Egypt generated 917,000 passengers for Russian airlines (a 4.5% year-on-year growth), making Egypt the most popular country for Russian travellers. The route network includes 23 routes with a total of 126 flights operated weekly between the countries by five Russian and three Egyptian carriers.
The United Arab Emirates ranked second, with 775,700 passengers in 2023 – a 93% year-on-year growth, but still only 66.6% of pre-pandemic levels. A total of 185 weekly flights on 17 routes are operated by eight Russian airlines and five carriers from the UAE.
In 2023, Russian airlines carried 395,400 passengers between Russia and China, 12 times more than in 2022 when strict COVID restrictions were in place in China. However, this is just 13.4% of 2019 traffic, which almost reached 3 million passengers. Eight airlines from each country operate 162 weekly flights on 31 routes.
