Navigator flight: airlines will lose benefits by 2 billion rubles a year
Airlines risk losing benefits worth about 2 billion rubles a year. The authorities intend to cancel the 0.01 reduction rate of the fee for air navigation in the Far East, Izvestia has learned. It was introduced in 2020 as a measure to support carriers in the pandemic. But because of him, the State Corporation for the Organization of Air Traffic is not receiving the funds necessary to equip 75 airfields to be reconstructed with locators, communications equipment and landing systems. Whether the industry agrees with the measure and whether it will affect the cost of tickets is in the Izvestia article.
Why are they planning to cancel air navigation benefits?
The Ministry of Transport plans to cancel the 0.01 reduction rate of the fee for air navigation services within the Far Eastern District. Several sources in the airlines told Izvestia about this. The benefit was introduced in March 2020 to support carriers amid the coronavirus pandemic as a temporary measure, but has been in effect for more than five years. Because of it, the financial indicators of the State Corporation for the Organization of Air Traffic (GC ATM) are noticeably decreasing, according to the ministry.
The audit of the Accounting Chamber showed that the company's revenue losses from the application of the coefficient for 2023 amounted to 1.768 billion rubles, one of the interlocutors told Izvestia. In 2024, the revenue loss of the state corporation has already amounted to 1.95 billion, and in the incomplete 2025 - 1.97 billion and continues to grow. Thus, if the discount is canceled, airlines will lose benefits worth about 2 billion rubles per year.
For the rest of Russia, a coefficient of 0.5 was introduced in 2020, but it was canceled in November of the same year, Sergey Kovalev, president of the Federal Trade Union of Air Traffic Controllers, told Izvestia. The 99% discount on air navigation was valid only for flights to the Far East. In May 2024, the Ministry of Transport attempted to cancel it as well. The initiative was supported by the trade unions of air traffic controllers, as the discount hit the economy of the ATM Group hard. But then the aviation authorities postponed the resolution of the issue.
The cancellation of the Far Eastern benefits for air navigation services will increase the State Corporation's ATM revenues, an industry source believes. According to him, the increase in air navigation costs is not fundamental for airlines, and they will increase by an average of 0.43%, however, for the ATM Group, the cancellation of the discount will be noticeable. In the period up to 2030, the company is expected to receive an additional 11.8 billion rubles.
The authorities plan to use these funds for the construction of air traffic management facilities at 75 airports in the country, the source added.
According to the analytical center under the Government of the Russian Federation, an additional 250 billion rubles have been allocated for the modernization of Russian air hubs as part of the national project "Efficient Transport System". Additional fees from airlines for air navigation are expected to be used to equip airfields with new locators, landing systems, communications and other equipment.
An interlocutor of Izvestia in one of the airlines noted that, according to the Ministry of Transport, the abolition of the lowering coefficient would have a minimal impact on the costs of carriers. The agency believes that airline expenses will increase by no more than 1%, which will lead to a maximum 4.4% increase in ticket prices. At the same time, the average price increase will fluctuate around 2.3%.
Izvestia sent requests to the Ministry of Transport, the Federal Air Transport Agency, the ATM State Corporation and the airline.
How can this affect the cost of tickets
The losses of the State ATM Corporation from the five-year discount are quite noticeable: This cost the company's employees the cancellation of salary indexation for four years, said Sergey Kovalev. All airlines operating both within the region and operating flights from Central Russia enjoyed the privilege. They actually received free air navigation services, which affected the dispatchers, the expert added.
According to Sergey Kovalev, the cancellation of the privilege should not affect the frequency of flights to the Far Eastern Federal District in any way, since the cost of air navigation is only a small part of the total cost structure of airlines. However, amid discussions about canceling the discount, carriers may try to increase ticket prices. Economically, this is unreasonable: the actual cost of navigation services will increase by only 0.5–0.8%, while tickets may rise in price by 4-5%, said the head of the trade union.
"Discounts have fulfilled their role in supporting air traffic in the Far East by supporting the industry during the pandemic," Fyodor Borisov, an expert at the HSE Institute of Transport Economics, told Izvestia. — Now the situation has changed and solutions are needed to upgrade the navigation infrastructure.
According to the expert, the share of expenses for air navigation services in the cost of flights is about 1%. However, due to the large number of flights, significant amounts are generated that can be used not only for the operational activities of dispatchers, but also for investments in the domestic aviation industry. Therefore, the cancellation of benefits will not significantly affect the economy of carriers, but it will allow funds to be used to upgrade air navigation equipment, the expert concluded.
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