KAZAN, June 25. /TASS/. The Russian aircraft industry is expected to return to the levels that preceded the novel coronavirus pandemic in 2021, Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin said.

"I would also say that the president’s decision on supporting the production of new aircraft is very important. It [concerns] 66 helicopters from the national sanitary aviation service - this is particularly important amid the present-day events - and 59 Sukhoi Superjet [SSJ] aircraft. That’s why I think that the industry will return to its pre-virus levels next year," he said.

The aviation industry has been among the hardest-hit economic sectors, affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic, as countries imposed strict restrictions on domestic and foreign air travel to curb the spread of the virus.

On March 18, Russia shut down its borders for all foreigners to curb the spread of coronavirus. Furthermore, international passenger air travel was fully suspended on March 27. In light of these developments, Russian citizens who found themselves stuck abroad and foreigners staying in Russia can return home by specially organized flights.

The domestic air travel in Russia was severely affected by obligatory self-isolation, imposed in the majority of Russian regions. As a result, the passenger traffic of Russian air carriers declined by 91.8% in April, to slightly more than 770,000 passengers.