Russians have begun to avoid flying between Moscow and St. Petersburg
Passenger traffic on flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg in the first half of 2026 fell by 18% year-over-year to 1.6 million people. This was caused by regular drone attacks and airport closures, according to Kommersant, citing industry sources.
The decline on this route significantly exceeds the overall trend in air travel in Russia. According to Rosstat, in January–June 2026, passenger traffic on Russian airlines decreased by only 3.2%—to 49.2 million passengers. At the same time, the decline accelerated in June, reaching 7.6% year-over-year.
St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport previously reported that in 2025 it lost about 15% of passenger traffic on the Moscow route due to regular operational restrictions caused by drone attacks. This had the greatest impact on business travel, as passengers began seeking more reliable alternatives.
According to estimates by Aeroclub, a company specializing in business travel, demand for flights between Moscow and St. Petersburg fell by 23% in the first six months of 2026. At the same time, demand for rail travel between the cities rose by 20%. The share of trains in business travel increased from 61% to 70%, with about 90% of passengers choosing high-speed trains.
Russian Railways reported that over the first seven months of 2026, the volume of passenger traffic between Moscow and St. Petersburg remained at last year’s level—approximately 7 million passengers. Of these, more than 3.1 million people traveled on the “Sapsan” high-speed trains.
Currently, flights between Moscow’s airports and St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport are operated by Aeroflot, Pobeda, Rossiya, S7, and Azimut. Aeroflot confirmed a slight decline in passenger traffic in the first half of the year but did not disclose specific figures. The company noted that ahead of the summer season, it optimized the number of flights on this route in favor of other destinations.
At the same time, S7 Airlines reported a 17% increase in passenger traffic thanks to an increase in the number of flights from two to three per day.
According to Andriy Kramarenko, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Transport Economics at the Higher School of Economics, part of the decline in air travel is linked to an overall reduction in demand for domestic flights, but disruptions caused by airport closures during drone attacks have had a significant impact. In addition, some passengers have switched to rail travel due to the higher likelihood of on-time arrivals.
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