Aeroflot Group reports strong 2026 start with 4.7% growth in January traffic

:: Alexey Pereslavtsev / Aeroflot

The Aeroflot Group has kicked off 2026 on solid ground, posting gains across key operating metrics. According to management accounting data, January passenger traffic across Russia’s largest aviation group rose 4.7% year-on-year to 4.11 million travelers, with growth recorded on both domestic and international networks.

Domestic routes traditionally handled the bulk of traffic, carrying 2.97 million passengers—a 1.9% increase from January 2025. International operations showed stronger momentum, with passenger numbers jumping 12.9% to reach 1.14 million.

The Group’s RPK expanded 9.9% to 12.20 billion, while ASK grew 4.1%. The load factor hit an impressive 90.8% across the Group, climbing 4.8 percentage points from last year. This strong seat occupancy holds steady on both domestic and international services.

Flag carrier Aeroflot transported 2.24 million passengers in January, up 3.9% from the previous year. International traffic posted particularly robust growth at +17.4%. The airline’s RPK increased 11.9%, with seat load factor reaching 90.6%—a gain of 6.1 percentage points.

Expanding its international footprint, Aeroflot airline recently announced new scheduled service from Sochi to Istanbul, Turkey and Yerevan, Armenia. Both routes launch March 29 with daily flights operated by Airbus A320 aircraft featuring two-class cabins.

In the domestic market, the airline has opened ticket sales for subsidized and “flat” fares on spring-summer schedules connecting Moscow with Far Eastern destinations. Its state-subsidized route network now spans 25 destinations this year.

Aeroflot’s proprietary Far Eastern flat fares remain available on nine key Moscow routes serving Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Magadan, Yakutsk, Blagoveshchensk, Anadyr, and Ulan-Ude.

While flat fares have been adjusted for the first time since 2024 to help offset rising operational costs, ticket prices still remain well below market rates—underscoring the carrier’s commitment to affordable travel to Russia’s remote regions. The airline expects to transport at least 1.5 million passengers on these routes in 2026.

Enhancing the passenger experience, Aeroflot has rolled out mobile payment terminals at check-in counters across 13 additional Russian airports. Travelers can now pay for extra services without visiting sales offices or agents, with terminals accepting bank cards and biometric payments.

Newly equipped locations include St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Gorno-Altaysk, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Novosibirsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Sochi, Khabarovsk, and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The initiative began in 2024 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and Krasnoyarsk, with plans to equip most airports across Aeroflot’s own domestic network by year-end 2026.

The Aeroflot Group maintains its leadership position in Russian aviation. For full-year 2025, the flagship carrier transported 29.5 million passengers, while total Group traffic (Aeroflot, Rossiya, Pobeda) reached 55.3 million travelers.