Russian flag carrier Aeroflot reported that its group passenger numbers plunged by 8.2% year on year in the first nine months of 2022, Interfax reported on October 18, citing figures from the firm’s CEO. Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky was quoted as stating:
“We carried 31.3 million passengers as a group in the first nine months of 2022, down from 34.1 million in the same period of 2021.”
He also added that the airline will have to recruit 3,500 extra pilots to operate domestically-manufactured airplanes, Interfax reported, as Russia aims to end its reliance on Western aircraft. State-owned conglomerate Rostec said in September that Russia’s aviation sector aimed to produce around 1,000 airliners by 2030, as Western sanctions make it quite challenging to get parts required to fix and repair foreign planes.
