MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. Russian airlines boosted traffic from January to June 2023 by 18% year-on-year to 47.5 mln passengers, Russian Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the government.

"The total passenger traffic for the first half of the year amounted to 47.5 mln passengers, which is nearly 18% higher than the same period last year," he said

According to Savelyev, the objective of transporting more than 100 mln people this year is still valid and will be met. According to the minister, demand for air transportation is growing.

In particular, Aeroflot intends to expand passenger volume by 11% by the end of 2023 to 45 mln, Savelyev said. As previously announced by the airline, the group boosted passenger volume by 15.7% in June to 4.3 mln. At the same time, the group increased traffic by 21.8% in the first half of the year to around 21 mln passengers.

According to Savelyev, Russian airlines have direct flights to 24 countries. He noted that carriers use 1,166 aircraft in total, with more than 90 of them being long-haul.

Meanwhile, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency re-registered 658 foreign-made aircraft used by 30 Russian airlines. The Russian register comprises almost 10,000 planes in total. The agency noted that Russian carriers' aircraft fleets are also being updated with Russian aircraft. So, in the last year and the first half of 2023, 132 such aircraft - 43 aircraft and 89 helicopters intended for commercial use - were registered in the state registry.