OREANDA-NEWS The increase in air navigation fees, which Rosaviation announced as a proposal the day before, will lead to an increase in air ticket prices, Siberia (S7) told RIA Novosti, and Aeroflot also indicated that the burden will eventually fall on the shoulders of passengers.

The rate of air navigation fees from Russian airlines may be increased to finance the airfield overhaul fund, Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, said yesterday. As specified in the press service of the department, the average increase in the cost of fees will be 150 rubles per ton of maximum take-off weight of the aircraft.

"S7 Airlines does not support the proposed initiative. Over the past few years, the burden on airlines in terms of airport costs has increased significantly, especially where new terminal construction projects are underway or have been implemented. In those airports where projects have already been implemented, the cost of flight maintenance has doubled in some cases. In general, since November 2022, air navigation fees have increased by 76%. Further growth may lead to a widespread increase in the cost of air tickets on the market," the airline's press service said.

S7 added that they advocate the mandatory inclusion of airlines in the discussion of airport development plans.
"Airlines are always attentive to tariff increases, as profitability in aviation is lower in comparison with other sectors of the economy, and the possibility of including changes in revenue depends on demand," Aeroflot said.

Air navigation tariffs have already increased significantly in 2022, by about 60%, and by 10% in 2023, the group said.

In January, Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Saveliev (at that time Minister of Transport), at a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with members of the government, stated that the Ministry of Transport was in favor of creating a fund to finance the overhaul of airfields and was ready to submit proposals on financing principles in the near future.

"It must be understood that regardless of the source of funds for the formation of the fund, ultimately this burden falls on the passenger in one way or another, since airlines receive income from passenger transportation," Aeroflot said.

"It is important that investment costs are carried out in accordance with the potential passenger demand for air travel," the S7 press service concluded.

Saveliev reported that by 2030, 241 airfields will be in operation in Russia, of which 228 are already operational. Of these, 111 airfields are subject to reconstruction and overhaul by 2030. The minister noted that 383 billion rubles are needed for this. Some of this money will be raised through the mechanism of public-private partnership.