As early as August 2021, Russian families with children will be able to buy air tickets at special reduced fares on some destinations.

The corresponding program for subsidizing carriers was approved by the Prime Minister of the country, Mikhail Mishustin.

“The government's decision will allow tens of thousands of our citizens to purchase tickets at fixed low prices.

Families even with a modest income will be able to comfortably fly to their destination, see the country, visit relatives, grandparents in other cities, ”the prime minister said at a meeting with his deputies.

As Mishustin specified, it is planned to subsidize flights on 46 interregional routes.

The list, for example, includes such directions as Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg, Murmansk, Irkutsk and Novosibirsk.

According to the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers, the cost of the discounted flight will vary in the range from 4.6 thousand to 10.9 thousand rubles, depending on the direction.

To receive the discount, it will be necessary to buy tickets as part of the so-called family trip - simultaneously for a child under 18 years old and for an adult who accompanies him.

According to the authorities, at least 50 thousand passengers will be able to take advantage of special-fare flights in a year.

At the same time, the state will reimburse the difference between regular and discounted tickets to airlines.

In total, the government will allocate 1.35 billion rubles from the budget for these purposes in 2021.

“Now is the holiday season.

I ask the Ministry of Transport to organize the work as quickly as possible.

To hold a competition among airlines in order to open sales of tickets at a special rate as soon as possible, ”Mishustin instructed.

  • RIA News

  • © Vitaly Timkiv

It is noteworthy that the government's initiative does not affect flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Crimea and to the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory.

As Mark Goikhman, chief analyst of TeleTrade Group, explained in a conversation with RT, subsidies are primarily aimed at stimulating travel to destinations where demand remains not high enough.

“The initiative will seriously support tourism in the regions of Russia.

At the same time, for the citizens themselves, this, of course, is a reduction in costs.

Although the amount of the discount will depend on the direction of the flight, there are significant savings for a parent with a child anyway, ”added Goikhman.

Due to the operation of the adopted program, air travel across Russia can drop in price by 2.2-2.7 thousand rubles on average.

This assessment was shared by the official representative of the Humanity social project Andrei Loboda in an interview with RT.

“Ticket prices are now quite comfortable, and an additional discount will allow families with low incomes to use the services of airlines more confidently.

For a family of four, the savings in transportation costs will be about 20 thousand rubles for the round trip, ”Loboda said.

In his opinion, against the background of accelerated inflation in Russia, the demand for preferential air tickets "will be instantaneous and very high."

Analysts of the travel and travel service Tutu.ru adhere to a similar assessment.

“Russians are very price-sensitive and most prefer an economical vacation.

We see that the opportunity to save money always attracts the interest of buyers.

Proof of this is the tourist cashback program, which has now been extended to the fourth stage, and many plan their autumn travel in advance to get a discount, "the company's press service told RT.

According to Mark Goykhman, the initiative will support the air carriers themselves.

So, due to compensation from the state and high demand for flights from citizens, companies will be able to increase their income, the analyst said.

Against this background, experts predict a more confident pace of recovery in the industry.

According to the latest data from the Federal Air Transport Agency, the volume of passenger air traffic in the country has recovered by 76% from the pre-crisis level.

So, if in 2019, from January to June, airlines carried about 57.7 million passengers, then for the same period of 2020 against the background of the pandemic, the figure fell to 27.8 million. At the same time, in the first six months of 2021, the value reached 43, 9 million

“It is likely that the new government measure will help Russian airlines to spread their wings more quickly, and the regions to keep attracting tourists.

The social effect is important here, and it is invaluable, since no one canceled human family communication.

In addition, often the flight and vacation of a resident of the European part of Russia in the Far East or Lake Baikal, until recently, cost at least 50% more than a vacation in Turkey or Egypt, "concluded Andrei Loboda.