Fulfilling president Putin’s call for increased inter-regional, Moscow-avoiding domestic air travel options for Russian citizens, and in a move much followed and feared by local competitors, state-controlled Aeroflot has launched the development of new additional regional hubs by signing an agreement to set up the Group’s second international and regional hub at Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.

A three-way agreement between Aeroflot, the government of the Krasnoyarsk region and Krasnoyarsk’s upgraded Yemelyanovo airport (KJA) was signed on March 29 and, although Aeroflot has released few details about the programme, this second hub, which is scheduled to open in 2020, has a challenging plan that projects up to one million additional passengers served there by the group annually by 2023.

No clue is provided on how many and what specific destinations may be covered, except that the airline “will be able to offer flights between cities in the Urals, Siberia and the south of the country, as well as to China and other parts of Asia.” A statement simply reads: “The creation of a hub at Krasnoyarsk will expand the airline’s route network, increasing the number of regular direct flights from Krasnoyarsk and creating more travel links and opportunities for Russian citizens.” On the subject of the available fleet, a Russian version of the statement additionally promises “modern airplanes will be based there.

The announcement does point out that the hub’s business model guarantees convenient connections, “that will enable us to attract transit passengers both on domestic and international routes. We are also planning to create a number of other regional bases in Russia. Aeroflot Group will make a significant contribution to fulfilling the president’s directive aimed at expanding the route network [options] of inter-regional regular flights avoiding Moscow,” states Andrey Panov, Aeroflot’s deputy chief executive of strategy and marketing.

Krasnoyarsk is the third-largest city in Siberia, with a population of some one million, and has been chosen because of its geographical location which particularly favours the generation of additional transit traffic flows from Asia to Europe, with China its most dynamic growth region. Also, the airport has recently been renovated.

Sources: rusaviainsider.com