Passenger numbers on Russian airlines were 25% lower in October 2022 compared with a year earlier, the Rosstat state statistics service said on Wednesday, as the industry continues to be hit hard from the fallout of Western sanctions.
Russian airlines carried 8.25 million passengers during the month, bringing the total number of passengers carried during the first 10 months of the year to 81 million - 14.3% lower than over the same period of 2021, when traffic was still down due to the COVID pandemic.
Russia’s aviation industry has been hit hard by Western sanctions, with Russian airlines such as Aeroflot banned from flying in European airspace.
Aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have also stopped selling planes, parts and equipment to Russian airlines, forcing some companies to cannibalise existing jets to get hold of spare parts.