Russian Airlines Carry 108.9 Million Passengers in 2025 as Domestic Traffic Falls 3.8%
Russia's airlines carried 108.9 million passengers in 2025, 2.5% fewer than a year earlier, according to data of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) reported by Interfax English. The full-year result was shaped by a contraction on domestic routes, while international services continued to add passengers and partly cushioned the overall dynamics.
Full-year 2025: 108.9 million passengers
Russian carriers transported 108.9 million passengers over the twelve months of 2025, which is 2.5% below the corresponding figure for 2024. The agency's breakdown shows that the overall decline was produced by the domestic segment, the largest part of the industry's traffic, whereas cross-border travel remained in growth territory throughout the year.
Domestic routes drove the decline
On domestic lines, Russian airlines served 81.5 million passengers in 2025, 3.8% less than in 2024. Because this segment accounts for the majority of the country's passenger traffic, its contraction determined the negative dynamics of the total figure. International operations, by contrast, expanded over the same period and softened the overall result.
Segment results for 2025
- Domestic services: 81.5 million passengers, down 3.8% year on year;
- International services: 27.4 million passengers, up 1.6%;
- including destinations outside the CIS: 17.7 million passengers, up 8.4%.
International traffic continues to grow
International flights brought Russian carriers 27.4 million passengers in 2025, 1.6% more than in 2024. Growth was concentrated on routes beyond the Commonwealth of Independent States: passenger traffic on non-CIS international lines increased 8.4% and reached 17.7 million, the fastest-growing part of the agency's statistics for the year.
Outlook for 2026
Russia's Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin expects passenger traffic in 2026 to stay approximately at the level of 2025. Among the constraints he named are the airports in the south of the country that remain closed to flights and the periodically introduced "Carpet" regime of airspace restrictions, Interfax English reported. At the same time, Rosaviatsiya head Dmitry Yadrov had forecast 110.4 million passengers for 2026 back in January.
Key reference points for 2026
- The Transport Ministry's expectation of traffic approximately at the 2025 level;
- Rosaviatsiya's January forecast of 110.4 million passengers for 2026;
- closed southern airports and the periodic "Carpet" airspace-restriction regime as limiting factors.
The combination of a shrinking domestic market and steadily growing international routes therefore remains the defining feature of Russian passenger aviation as the industry enters 2026, with the regulator's and the ministry's estimates framing the range of expectations for the year.
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