How to buy subsidized flights — what you need to know

Many travelers strive to save money on flights, because sometimes the cost of plane tickets is one of the most serious items of expenditure. For some flights within Russia, you can purchase subsidized flights at a reduced price. Read about how to do this and who can take advantage of the benefit in the Izvestia article.

What are subsidized flights and destinations?

Subsidized air tickets are tickets, part of the cost of which is covered by the state. Due to this, they are sold at much lower prices than regular ones. Thus, the authorities support direct flights between the regions of the country, develop domestic tourism and make flights more affordable.

The list of airlines participating in the ticket subsidy program is established annually on a competitive basis. In 2025, 15 carriers were selected: Azimut, Alrosa, Aeroflot, Ikar, Iraero, Krasavia, Rusline, Severstal Airline, YUVT-Aero, Yamal, North Wind, Red Wings, S7, Smartavia and Utair. In total, they provide discounted tickets to 267 destinations.

At all poles: Russians will have 15 new vacation destinations.

Vietnam's Nha Trang and China's Sanya are among the most anticipated arrival cities.

Subsidized fares are available only on domestic flights of Russian airlines. At the same time, as a rule, there are no tickets to Moscow in the list of subsidized ones, since planes fly to and from the capital already often. The program is aimed at maintaining less popular regional routes.

For example, you can fly to St. Petersburg from Ivanovo, Vologda, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kurgan, Naryan-Mar and other cities. From Yekaterinburg, travelers can travel to Arkhangelsk, Barnaul, Izhevsk, Kemerovo, Makhachkala and other cities. Planes fly from Krasnoyarsk to Kyzyl, Lensk, Nizhnevartovsk, Novokuznetsk, etc. The full list of routes is published on the website of the Federal Air Transport Agency.

Who can buy subsidized flights in 2025

All Russians can purchase subsidized flights, regardless of their place of residence, age, marital status and other characteristics. However, the number of such tickets is limited and they are sold out very quickly, so you should think about buying them in advance.

Some of the subsidized tickets are available only to privileged categories of citizens. These include young people under the age of 23, pensioners, people with disabilities of group I and their accompanying persons, people with disabilities from childhood of groups II and III, children with disabilities and their accompanying persons, members of large families. Flights on 81 routes are available to them.

Residents of the Far Eastern Federal District (Far Eastern Federal District) who have permanent residence in the region are also considered beneficiaries. There are 21 subsidized routes for them. Residents of the Kaliningrad Region with permanent registration and full-time students of Kaliningrad universities can also purchase discounted tickets on six routes.

Buckle up your wallets: Russia may introduce a price ceiling on airfares

Pricing under the new principles should make economy class flights more affordable

Children under the age of 18 with a ticket to the Okean Children's Center in Vladivostok are considered a separate preferential category. They can buy cheap tickets to the capital of Primorsky Krai and back in six directions.

Subsidized tickets for beneficiaries in 2025 are provided by 11 airlines: Alrosa, Aeroflot, Iraero, Ural Airlines, Yakutia, iFly, Nordstar, Red Wings, S7, Smartavia and Utair.

How to buy subsidized plane tickets in 2025

Subsidized tickets intended for all citizens are sold in the same way as regular ones. They can be purchased on airline websites, through special aggregator sites or travel agencies. Apart from the price, they have no distinguishing features.

To purchase a discounted ticket, a passenger will need to provide a document confirming the right to a discount: a disability certificate, a certificate of a large family, a student ID, etc. In addition, such tickets are available only to Russian citizens, so adults must have a passport, and children under the age of 14 must have a birth certificate with the appropriate stamp.

Residents of the Far Eastern Federal District and the Kaliningrad Region need a passport with a permanent registration certificate in the region. Discounted tickets are not available to people with a temporary residence permit. Children flying to the Ocean Center on vacation need a ticket.

Caucasus Hello: direct air service will stimulate growth of travel to Abkhazia

What else will change with the opening of Sukhum airport and how Russia helps its neighbor

Passengers from privileged categories are provided with four one-way or two round-trip tickets per year. If you need to make more flights, you will have to pay for them at full price.

Often, discounted tickets can only be purchased at airline ticket offices. However, some carriers provide passengers with the opportunity to purchase some tickets remotely. For example, on the S7 website, young people under the age of 23, pensioners and residents of the Far Eastern Federal District can use this service.

In addition, from January 1 to July 1, 2025, an experiment on the online sale of subsidized tickets is underway in Russia. If it is successful, beneficiaries will have the opportunity to buy plane tickets in any convenient way.

Earlier, Izvestia told how to return a non-refundable ticket.