Russians are flying less between Moscow and St. Petersburg
Russians are flying less between Moscow and St. Petersburg — «Kommersant» Passenger traffic on flights between St. Petersburg and Moscow fell by 18% in the first half of 2026.
Consensus
- Passenger traffic on flights between Moscow and Saint Petersburg decreased by 18% in the first half of the year 2026.
- The national average passenger traffic for all airlines in Russia decreased by 3.2% in the first half of 2025.
- The decline in air travel was significantly greater than the national average.
- Frequent airport closures due to drone attack threats (plan 'Kover') were cited as a major factor.
- Business travel was particularly affected by flight disruptions.
- Demand for train travel between Moscow and Saint Petersburg increased by 20%.
- The share of train travel in business trips rose from 61% to 70%.
- Several airlines, including Ural Airlines, Smartavia, and Utair, exited the route.
- The launch of 'Aeroflot's Shuttle' program with up to 70 daily flights contributed to the decline in air traffic.
Points of divergence
- The Russian Railways (RZD) stated that passenger volumes for the first seven months of 2026 remained at the same level as in the previous year. — tg_echoonline_news
- The 'Shuttle' program of Aeroflot was launched in summer 2024. — tg_echoonline_news
- The number of flight restrictions at Moscow airports (Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky) reached at least 214 times between January 1 and June 19, 2026. — meduza
- The reduction in passenger traffic at Pulkovo Airport was 3%. — tg_paperpaper_ru
- The number of cancelled flights in Russia increased 4.3 times and delayed flights doubled since the beginning of 2026. — gazeta_spb
Coverage (11 sources)
- Russians are flying less between Moscow and St. Petersburg — «Kommersant» — Бумага
- In six months, passengers on flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg decreased by 18% - SPb Newspaper - St. Petersburg news — Gazeta.SPb
- Air traffic between Moscow and St. Petersburg dropped by nearly 20% due to drone attacks — ЭХО / Новости
- Russians began refusing flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg — Север.Реалии
- Russians began refusing flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg — Радио Свобода
- Due to drone attack threats, passengers are flying less between Moscow and St. Petersburg and choosing trains more often — ASTRA
- Russians are flying less on the Moscow — St. Petersburg route. Among the reasons — frequent airport closures due to Ukrainian drones — Meduza
- Passengers are flying less between Moscow and St. Petersburg and traveling more by train — Дождь
- Passengers are flying less between Moscow and St. Petersburg and traveling more by train — Дождь (Telegram)
- Yav: Traffic on flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg fell by almost 20% — Фонтанка
- Passenger flow on flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg decreased by almost 20% — Коммерсантъ