Russia considers new fee on airline passengers to fund purchases of Russian-made aircraft

Russia’s Transport Ministry, Industry and Trade Ministry, and state corporation Rostec are considering a passenger fee to subsidize the leasing and operation of new Russian-made aircraft, sources familiar with the proposal told Kommersant.The amount has not yet been determined. Most of the newspaper’s sources said the fee could be as much as 500 rubles per ticket for domestic flights and 1,000 rubles for international flights. One source said the fees could be as high as 700 rubles for domestic flights and 2,000 rubles for international flights.The Transport Ministry could administer the fee, distributing some of the revenue to leasing companies to cover the difference between the aircraft’s production cost and the subsidized price charged to carriers. Initially, another portion would go to airlines to offset the higher cost of operating the aircraft compared with foreign-made models.Kommersant estimates that, at current passenger volumes, the fee could raise 200–250 billion rubles between 2027 and 2030. After that, the newspaper’s sources said, the fee may no longer be necessary as the aircraft become less expensive.Work on the proposal has only just begun, and “no final decisions have yet been made about the amount or how the fee would be collected,” a government source said.Analysts interviewed by the newspaper warned that higher ticket prices would reduce passenger traffic, airline and airport revenue, and tax receipts. They proposed covering the initial costs of operating the new aircraft with government funds.Since September 2025, airline passengers have already been charged 150 rubles each to fund airfield renovations. The fee is to be adjusted annually for inflation.The MC-21 is estimated to cost 8.9-11 billion rubles to produce, while Airbus A320-200s and Boeing 737-800s sell for 3.4-4 billion rubles. The production cost of the Russian-made SJ-100 is estimated at 5.4 billion rubles, while a comparable Embraer E190 sells for about 3 billion rubles. The Tu-214 is estimated to cost 8.9 billion rubles and the Il-114 4 billion rubles.Since 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and Western countries imposed sanctions, Western aircraft can be delivered to Russia only through unofficial channels, via intermediaries and at higher prices.At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.