VOLGOVGRAD, August 26. /TASS/. Russian air carriers will increase domestic service by 8% in 2021 compared to 2019 to 79 mln people, according to the Transport Ministry’s projections, Deputy Minister Igor Chalik said at a meeting headed by Russian Presidential Aide Igor Levitin in Volgograd on Thursday.
"This is a landmark year that is going to be a basis for the coming years as service will hit a maximum this year. That is why we compare with 2019," he said. "We expect domestic service to amount to 79 mln passengers by the end of 2021, up by almost 6 mln, or roughly 8% compared with 2019," deputy minister added.
In 2020, Russia’s domestic service shrank by 23.1% to 56.15 mln passengers, according to the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport.