OREANDA-NEWS  The share of regular passenger flights between the regions of Russia without landing in Moscow by the end of 2022 for the first time amounted to 50% of the total number of domestic air routes. This follows from the data of the State Corporation for Air Traffic Management published in the Unified Interdepartmental Information and Statistical System (EMISS; the same figure was given by the head of the Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko at the board of the department on March 10).

In 2019, the share of flights bypassing Moscow was 39%, in 2020 - 45.6%, in 2021 — 46.3%, and last year, according to the plan of the authorities, it was supposed to increase only to 46.5%, Neradko noted.

President Vladimir Putin has instructed to increase the number of interregional flights bypassing Moscow to 50% after his inauguration for the fourth presidential term in May 2018. But this goal was to be achieved only by the end of 2024, according to his May decree "On national goals and strategic objectives for the development of the Russian Federation."

However, according to the Comprehensive Plan for Modernization and Expansion of Infrastructure (until 2024), developed by the government for the implementation of the May decree, the share of passenger traffic on flights bypassing Moscow (namely passengers, not flights) in 2021 was supposed to be 44%, in 2022 - 46.5%, and in 2024 — grow to 51.35%. At the same time, in 2021, 29.8 million passengers were transported on regional airlines, or only 34% of passengers on domestic lines, follows from the data of the Federal Air Transport Agency. Figures for last year are not disclosed. In total, in 2022, 77.73 million people or 81.6% of the total passenger traffic were transported by airlines on flights within Russia (in 2021 - 78.8%; 87.5 million).