Flight rate: in Russia, a third of the entire airport network will be updated by 2030

"Aeroflot" has signed an agreement to supply 90 MC aircraft to it-21-310 — During the ceremony on September 18, Vladimir Putin called this contract a significant step for the industry, which will ensure the long-term utilization of domestic plants. Experts are confident that the serial order will allow us to fully occupy a key niche in the domestic market and finally negate the sanctions risks for civilian transportation. At the same time, the development of infrastructure in the country is not limited to aviation: on the same day, the president launched the commissioning of new social gasification facilities in seven regions at once. Networks continue to arrive in Russian cities and villages — by September 1, 1.62 million households had already gained access to this type of fuel.

How is the modernization of the airport network and the start of production of the MS-21 going?

The Russian President launched the work of several large transport and social infrastructure facilities via video link from the Kremlin. The head of state started talking about the quality of life in the country with aviation, noting that the large-scale modernization of airports from the Baltic to the Pacific Ocean is already yielding tangible results.

Since 2021, 20 new runways and 26 airport complexes have been built in the country. Modern terminals are opening all over Russia — from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to Cheboksary. By 2030, it is planned to upgrade more than 75 key airports, which is a third of the entire aviation network of the Russian Federation. The Head of State stressed that the development of civil aviation is not only a matter of the comfort of citizens, but also a strategic task to ensure the transport connectivity of a vast territory.

— Our country, as we know so well, is the largest in the world. And nowhere in the farthest corner should people feel like they are on an island," Vladimir Putin said.

Several regions have added to the list of updated aviation facilities at once. A new passenger terminal was built in Barnaul, and an arrival terminal was opened in Pskov, which made it possible to effectively divide passenger traffic. A modern international checkpoint has been opened in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, where, thanks to "Sapsan" biometric control systems, the capacity has increased to 600 people per hour.

A new runway and a command and control center with domestic navigation equipment have been commissioned in Makhachkala, which will allow Dagestan airport to receive heavy wide-body airliners in any weather. And in Orenburg, an air terminal was opened, which is three and a half times larger than before, and its facade is decorated with unique patterns, stylized as the Orenburg down shawl.

The central event of the event was the signing of a major contract for the supply of 90 MC-21-310 medium-haul airliners to "Aeroflot", as well as for full technical support of 108 aircraft (including 18 machines from previous orders). Vladimir Putin called this agreement a crucial step for the entire Russian aircraft industry. The Head of State stressed that the contract guarantees long-term and stable utilization of both factories and hundreds of related enterprises.

Anton Alikhanov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said that the most advanced solutions are used to create the MS-21-310, and the liner itself will receive a certified Russian PD-14 engine. Certification of the aircraft itself is planned to be completed next year, and deliveries of the entire batch of 90 machines will take place between 2029 and 2032. According to Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin, the first airliners will launch on key routes from Moscow to the European part of the country and the Volga region — to Kazan, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod. Later, as mass production expands, the geography of flights will cover the Urals, Siberia and the southern regions.

Oleg Panteleev, Executive Director of the "Aviport" agency, notes that the MC-21-310 has become the flagship project of civil aviation. Due to advanced solutions, the liner surpasses its foreign counterparts in a number of parameters and removes sanctions risks. In addition, the aircraft definitely falls into the most sought-after niche of medium-haul vessels. Its features allow you to flexibly change the layout of the cabin: from a low-cost airline with 211 seats to a premium class with enlarged luggage racks and a wide aisle.

Moreover, the MC-21-310 also has export potential, Panteleev emphasized. Given that the aircraft industry has a powerful multiplier effect, the revival of mass production of mainline airliners will support the economy of the whole country. According to him, this program will provide long-term orders not only to aircraft factories, but also to metallurgists, radio electronics manufacturers and companies from dozens of other industries.

Putin instructed to include rural clubs in the gasification program

On the same day, Vladimir Putin held another important event for the whole country — via videoconference, the president launched the commissioning of new facilities built under the social gasification program.

"This is one of the most important initiatives for our citizens, regions, for the domestic fuel and energy complex and, perhaps, the whole country," the president said.

The official launch of the new gas networks was given simultaneously in seven regions of the country — from Central Russia and the Volga region to the North Caucasus and the Far East. One of the key facilities was the Vostochny cosmodrome in the Amur region, where five boiler houses were simultaneously connected to mains gas.

Social gasification also has a huge effect on local residents. So, in the Ulyanovsk village of Novy Dol, a boiler room for a school and an orphanage was converted to blue fuel, in the Vladimir village of Fineevo it was brought to a paramedic and obstetric station, in the Chuvash village of Kildishevo it was brought to a rural house of culture, and in the Dagestan village of Richaganikh, mains gas entered residential buildings for the first time. At the same time, the laying of an important inter-settlement gas pipeline to the Nizhny Novgorod Shakhunya was completed and a symbolic torch was lit in the Novozhilov family home near Tver.

By September 1 of this year, 1.62 million households had already gained access to gas, of which over 1.2 million were fully connected to the grid. The Head of State drew attention to the huge demand for gas in small towns and villages, where more than half of all new housing in Russia is currently being built. The dynamics are obvious: if in 2005 the gas infrastructure was operating in only 40 regions of the country, now it is already in 73. The President stressed that over the past five years, new gasified settlements have appeared on the map of the country almost every day. That is why the program has been made indefinite, and its boundaries are constantly expanding. So, Vladimir Putin instructed the government to extend gasification to rural cultural centers, and also separately raised the issue of reducing the cost of equipment and the connection itself for families.

— The cost of gas equipment for a home is still quite high. Excessive, unjustified price increases should not be allowed here," the president warned.

Alexey Miller, Chairman of "Gazprom" Management Board, noted that over the past five years pipes with this type of fuel have been brought to 2,150 settlements, and the level of technically possible gasification in Russia has reached a record 91.2%. According to the head of the company, there is no such availability of natural gas anywhere except in our country.