During his speech, Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov said that Russia’s passenger air transport services have been developing sustainably. In 2012, Russian airlines serviced 74 million passengers, 15.4% more than in the previous year.
The Minister added that he has developed and the Government has approved a roadmap for developing regional air travel to implement complex measures for developing regional air transport services. It is expected that domestic air service traffic will increase to 45 million passengers by 2015, while regional traffic grows to 6-7 million and the number of regional air routes increases to 1,500. To achieve these objectives, a series of supporting measures is presently being implemented, including the launch of passenger service from the Republic of Dagestan.
Mr Sokolov said that the Government has approved a resolution on providing subsidies to air transport companies in 2013 for organising domestic air transport services for passengers and for forming a regional route network.
After consultations with airlines, the Federal Agency for Air Transport has prepared a list of 67 routes, including two flights to the Republic of Dagestan. The routes are: Mineralnye Vody-Makhachkala and Rostov-on-Don-Makhachkala.
The services will launch on July 15.
The meeting participants also discussed the development of the Makhachkala commercial seaport. In 2012, the port’s cargo turnover was 6 million tonnes and set an absolute record in terms of shipping oil and oil products – at 5.3 million tonnes. The transshipment of dry cargo grew by 20% in 2012.
The Minister also stressed the port’s unique geopolitical location – Russia’s only ice-free port in the Caspian Sea. The port is also the only transport hub located along Caspian oil and oil product shipment routes and is included in the international North-South Transport Corridor.
Source: Ministry of Transport
