One of the priorities of the draft budget for 2025-2027 was the development and modernization of the network of Russian airfields: the costs of the airfield network are significantly increasing. There is a change in government policy in the field of transport infrastructure. This is directly related to the current geopolitical situation, but not only with this.
The draft budget provides, among others, for significant expenditures on transport infrastructure. Among them, the project "Development of the airfield support network" stands out. 166 billion rubles have been allocated for the reconstruction and construction of at least 77 airfields. This is significantly more than has been planned so far under the federal project "Development of regional airports".
After the collapse of the 1990s
After the degradation of the air transportation infrastructure in the 1990s, the development of airports and the airfield network took place point-by-point, in those places where air traffic remained. Russian airlines earned mainly on foreign flights to Europe (as well as to North America, Japan and South Korea) and on servicing the tourist flow (mainly to Turkey, Egypt, Southeast Asia and China). In addition, Russia earned money on transit flights of European air carriers to Asian countries.
The airports serving these passenger flows developed on a commercial basis. Budget injections were needed only occasionally for the reconstruction of runways and navigation equipment. As passenger traffic grew, the lack of reliable aviation communication directly between the regions, without the need to transfer in Moscow, became a significant problem.
To solve it, budget subsidies for inter-regional flights were first introduced. The program is constantly expanding. In 2024, it included 28 new routes, the total number of which now only just falls short of three hundred (that is, 293).
The increase in passenger traffic and the increase in the number of flights caused increased demands on infrastructure. In 2018, the project "Development of regional airports" was adopted, within the framework of which the cost of tickets on interregional flights (on routes bypassing Moscow) was subsidized. In addition, airlines partially subsidized the leasing of aircraft for these routes, as well as the reconstruction (and construction of new) runways.
From 2019 to 2021 inclusive, two runways per year were put into operation. In 2022-2024, the implementation of the program continued. At the same time, five runways were put into operation in 2022, seven runways in 2023, and 28 reconstructed and under construction runways were scheduled for completion and commissioning in 2024 (as a rule, the runway has been under construction for several years). In 2025-2026, it is planned to complete the reconstruction of the runways of four more airfields.
But the question arose as to how the development of the airfield network should go in the future – and for what purpose.
The reason for the change of priorities
The program of the comprehensive plan for the expansion and modernization of the backbone infrastructure (KPMI), which is coming to an end this year, was formed in 2017-2018. In 2022, the situation has changed dramatically. The European Union (as well as the United Kingdom and Canada) closed their skies to Russian aircraft, and Russia in response banned flights over its territory by aircraft from 36 unfriendly countries.
This has changed passenger flows. Most people now fly to Europe either through Turkey or through the countries of the Caucasus. To North America – via Turkey or the Emirates. But there are significantly fewer Russian tourists flying to Europe. There is a demand for some domestic tourist routes. The change in foreign trade relations has increased passenger traffic to China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The load on existing airports has been significantly redistributed.
Finally, the turn to the East led to an acceleration of the economic development of Siberia and the Far East, and the launch of a number of important projects for the country there. And this forces efforts to improve the transport connectivity of these territories (both from the point of view of roads and railways, and from the point of view of air transport).
The continuation of the conflict in Ukraine makes us think about reserving a network of airfields so that in special circumstances it would be possible to redirect air flights to other airports.
Plans for tomorrow
To achieve all the goals, a new plan is needed to modernize the ground infrastructure of passenger air transport, which should proceed from the current system of priorities.
"The modernization of regional airports is an extremely important element for the development of civil aviation in our country. Such projects are under special control of the government and the Ministry of Transport," Alexander Averkiev, Head of the Airport Activities Department of the Federal Air Transport Agency, said at the PRO Aero industry conference in Moscow in February 2024. The conference was attended by more than 140 leading experts from the country, who represented 34 Russian airports, airport holdings, industry authorities, design and contracting organizations. The results and plans for the development of the aviation industry were discussed.
By autumn, all the proposals were consolidated into a single system within the framework of the project "Development of the Russian transport system". Currently, the support network of civil airfields includes 228 facilities. By 2030, their number, according to the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency, will increase to 242.
129 airfields are subject to modernization (77 by 2027). Major repairs are planned for 53 of them. The remaining 76 will be reconstructed and new construction will be carried out.
We can say that Russia will actually rebuild dozens of airfields. At current prices, the total amount of work (up to and including 2030) is estimated at 381.1 billion rubles. Federal budget expenditures will amount to 264.7 billion.
A significant part of these costs is intended to bring airports with high physical wear and tear or in need of modernization into a standard state. But the goal of the project "Development of the Russian transport system" is to create a multimodal transport infrastructure that increases the internal connectivity of the country and ensures the development of its interaction with friendly countries that become our main business partners.
In the noughties, you could take your time and follow the growth in demand. The state invested in the development of transport infrastructure only in those places where it was impossible without it. Investments in infrastructure development mainly followed the intensification of flights.
Now the task is to act ahead of the curve and create an infrastructure for growth. And there are several directions for future growth. This includes the development of the South of Siberia and the Far East, where large-scale projects are being implemented to create new territorial production complexes. As well as expanding cooperation, business, interstate and tourist contacts with our eastern and southern neighbors and strengthening cooperation with Southeast Asian countries.
Dmitry Skvortsov
