MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. Russian airlines are able to make flights overseas with the use of 193 airplanes, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said on Tuesday.
"We have recently established a pool of 193 aircraft, including 148 - SSJ 100, and the remaining ones - foreign but bought out by our airlines from the start; they are owned and were filed into the Russian register from the outset. Therefore, we believe we can rely on these 193 aircraft and we are therefore flying to countries able to receive these airplanes," Savelyev said.
Russian airlines can carry about 90 mln passengers inside the country, the Minister said.
"We can undertake to carry 90 mln inside Russia. Let me remind the figure was 87.5 mln last year," Savelyev said. "10 mln for foreign countries, we forecast nevertheless. Against all odds, we still have nine countries where Russian aircraft can fly to," the Minister said. Thirty foreign airlines are currently flying to Russia, he added.