MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. The development of air services in the Far East and the Arctic is of strategic importance for implementation of projects and for development of the regions, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev told TASS.

"The development of air services is an important factor for the Far East and the Arctic," he said. "We plan by 2036 the number of passengers will reach 13.5 million, where more than 5 million will fly within the region. This will be possible due to the upgrade of airports, the fleet and due to expanded subsidized flights. Our goal is to make airports convenient so that more people could come to the Far East and the Arctic, stay here, implement projects and develop the territories."

In 2025, new airports were opened in different parts of the Far East and the Arctic. A new terminal at the Yelizovo Airport in Kamchatka was commissioned in spring. Its capacity is 1,145 passengers per hour, and the area is five times bigger than that of the old building. The Khabarovsk International Airport Terminal was opened as part of the Eastern Economic Forum. It has become the biggest airport in the Far East. The new terminal's area is more than 48,000 square meters, and the capacity is 1,800 passengers per hour. A new terminal in Murmansk began working in November. That airport is the region's main transport hub and the Arctic hub.

The Murmansk Airport's press service told TASS that over first 11 months of 2025 the airport served more than 1.2 million people, and 1,918 tons of cargo. The Khabarovsk International Airport's press service reported 2.5 million passengers since the beginning of the year. The Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Air Terminal's press service told TASS that by the beginning of December 2025, the terminal had received more than 1.3 million passengers (growth by 0.5% year-on-year). In 2025, the cargo handling, including baggage and mail, has amounted to about 18,000 tons (growth by 27% year-on-year).

Airports' upgrade is underway. For example, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region's Governor Dmitry Artyukhov said earlier the Salekhard Airport's new terminal would open on time according to the plan - in 2028. The project is being implemented successfully, he added.