The key facts

  • Presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Oleg Kozhemyako promised to continue subsidizing flights to the Far East
  • In winter, in his view, engine hours should be saved and flights postponed to the summer season
  • In the spring, the LDPR proposed expanding the discounted transport program to cities with tourist potential beyond the Urals

Subsidies for Far East flights will be preserved

The policy of subsidizing flights to the Far East will continue, said Oleg Kozhemyako, presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, in an interview with kp.ru. According to him, the authorities will proceed from the capabilities of the budget and the aircraft fleet, and the envoy himself promised to closely monitor the situation.

Winter is not the season: saving engine hours

Kozhemyako explained the logic behind distributing flights: «It is necessary to understand that winter is not the vacation period. We need to save engine hours and set them aside for the summer, when a flood of people arrives». In his view, the Ministry of Transport is pursuing a balanced policy on this issue and expects to increase the number of flights in the summer months.

Context: proposals to expand the program

In the spring, LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky proposed expanding the state-funded transport program to cities with tourist potential beyond the Urals — so that any Russian citizen could buy tickets there once a year at fixed discounted prices. Earlier, the State Duma warned of rising prices for domestic flights. These initiatives and warnings remain context for the discussion: the publication contains no data on their implementation or refutation.

Why this matters

For residents of the Far East, subsidized flights are one of the few affordable ways to stay connected with the European part of the country, so statements about continuing the program directly affect their mobility and ticket expenses. A practical conclusion follows from the envoy's words: in winter the number of flights may remain limited to save the aircraft fleet's resources, while an increase in flight availability should be expected in the summer. For now, however, this is the position of one official — the specific parameters of funding and the number of flights for the next season are not disclosed in the publication.