Russia’s Smartavia passenger traffic decreased by 6.7%

:: Pulkovo airport

Russia-based privately-run airline Smartavia (5N) carried 3.54 million passengers in 2024, down 6.7% year-on-year.

The result puts it in eighth place in the ranking of Russia’s airlines.

Last year, the growth in passenger traffic of Russian carriers was mainly driven by international markets. But Smartavia has been operating exclusively within the country since the start of Russia-Ukraine military conflict in February 2022. Without government support, the airline was unable to arrange a settlement from insurance claims involving aircraft it leased from foreign lessors.

The airline’s route network in the summer schedule covered 48 destinations. Its fleet includes 13 Western-built leased narrowbodies: two Airbus A320neos and 11 Boeing 737NGs.

During last year, the company further increased its seat load factor from 96.0 to 96.6%, praised as a one of the highest in the industry, while meaning it is reaching its fleet capacity limits.

That pushed Smartavia to sign last September a letter of intent for the purchase of 45 Russian-designed MC-21 narrowbody jets, with delivery by 2035.

Smartavia relies on low-cost model and digital technologies in its operations. In 2024, the airline continued to evolve its onboard service and entertainment system, e-commerce tools.

“We remain committed to the digitalization of processes, which contributes to improving the company’s efficiency while ensuring a high level of flight safety and accessibility of air travel for our passengers. This course remains in the company’s strategy in 2025,” said Sergey Lazarev, CEO of Smartavia.