Ten Russian airports, including Moscow Sheremetyevo, have applied to the civil aviation regulator for subsidies to compensate for the loss of passenger traffic in the second quarter.
Federal air transport regulator Rosaviatsia began examining applications for partial reimbursement on 4 June, the day after the government published a subsidy decree.
The government has allocated a total of Rb10.9 billion ($156 million) for the airport subsidy programme.
“This measure of state support will ensure the continued uninterrupted operation of airports and the preservation of aviation personnel,” says Rosaviatsia.
Sheremetyevo recorded just 161,000 passengers in April compared with over 3.3 million in January.
Along with Sheremetyevo the airports of Kazan, Murmansk, Ufa, Simferopol, Belgorod, Anapa, Krasnodar, Sochi and Nizhnekamsk are seeking subsidies to cover the decline of traffic resulting from the coronavirus crisis.
Rosaviatsia says it expects the subsidies to be approved within a few days once document verification is complete.
It has not detailed the level of subsidy sought by each airport operator. But the decree outlines a calculation formula based on an expenditure multiple of the difference in passenger numbers between this year and last.
