MOSCOW, April 19. /TASS/. Russian airlines carried 20.7 mln passengers in Q1 2023, an increase by 4.5% year-on-year, the press service of the Transport Ministry told reporters.

"According to preliminary estimates, in the first three months of 2023 Russian airlines carried 20.7 mln passengers, up by 4.5% compared with the same period in 2022 (19.8 mln passengers)," the press service said.

Earlier, Aeroflot Group said that it carried 3.3 mln passengers in March, up by 50.3% year-on-year, and 9.46 mln passengers in Q1, up by 11.3% year-on-year.

Russian Deputy Transport Minister Igor Chalik told reporters earlier on Wednesday that Russian airlines carried 24.2 mln passengers as of April 16, which is 709,000 people higher than projected for the period. It is planned that Russian airlines will carry 101.2 mln people this year.