Domodedovo passenger traffic continues to decline

Domodedovo international flights saw a 18.5% decrease, to 9.2 million passengers, in January-September 2016 (Photo by Leonid Faerberg / transport-photo.com)

Moscow Domodedovo airport, the second largest airport in Russia, continued to lose passengers on international routes but, nevertheless, hopes to improve the situation due to the increase in demand for tourist flights, first and foremost in Turkey.

In January-September 2016, the airport served 22.2 million people, which is 8.6% less than during the same period last year. Moreover, if the passenger traffic volume on domestic routes in the first three quarters of the year remained at the same level a year ago, 13 million people, the international flights saw a 18.5% decrease, to 9.2 million passengers.

Domodedovo representatives explain that the decline in international flights is connected with the restriction for flights to Egypt, Ukraine and Turkey, and note that in the other international routes the passenger traffic saw a 5% increase compared to January-September 2015. The most significant positive changes in tourist passenger segment were noted on flights to Larnaca (Cyprus), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Phuket (Thailand), Enfidha and Djerba (Tunisia). The demand for them has more than tripled compared to the same period last year. In the reporting period, the above mentioned flights served 789 thousand passengers.

The airport also reported that after the resumption of charter flights to Turkey in September the passenger traffic between Domodedovo and the cities of this country amounted to 36.1 thousand passengers.

The airport hopes that it will be able to change the trend in the international passenger traffic. So in September, Thai Airways, the national airline of Thailand, announced the resumption of flights from Bangkok to Domodedovo. Another large foreign carrier –Emirates returned Airbus A380 to Moscow flights from October 1.

Domodedovo passenger traffic decreases the second consecutive year due to the general slump in demand for air travel in Russia in the conditions of economic hardships and political constraints. At the end of 2014 Domodedovo was the largest airport of the country with passenger traffic of 33 million people. A year later, it served 30.5 million passengers and yielded the palm to other Moscow airport — Sheremetyevo.