Russian ministries and the state corporation Rostec are discussing a new levy on air tickets that could raise up to 250bn roubles over four years to support the country’s struggling aviation industry.
The proposed charge would help cover the high cost of leasing airliners and the operation of new Russian-built aircraft, shifting part of the burden of the state’s aviation policy on to ordinary passengers. The plans were reported on 23 September 2026 by IStories, which said the transport ministry, the industry and trade ministry and Rostec were considering several options.
No final decision has been made. Under one proposal, passengers would pay up to 500 roubles on a domestic ticket and up to 1,000 roubles on an international journey. Another scenario would set the charges at up to 700 roubles and 2,000 roubles respectively.
A levy to cover the cost of Russian aircraft
Government calculations suggest that, at current passenger volumes, the charge could generate between 68bn and 84bn roubles a year. The authorities are therefore expecting to collect about 200bn–250bn roubles between 2027 and 2030.
Part of the money would be passed to leasing companies to compensate for the gap between the production cost of Russian aircraft and the preferential prices at which they are supplied to domestic airlines. The remainder would go to carriers to meet the higher costs of operating the new aircraft, including fuel.
The figures expose the financial weakness at the heart of Russia’s import-substitution programme in civil aviation. The production cost of an MC-21 is estimated at 8.9bn–11bn roubles, compared with 3.4bn–4bn roubles for comparable Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft. The SJ-100 is estimated to cost 5.4bn roubles to manufacture, against about 3bn roubles for an Embraer E190.
Those differences leave Russian airlines and leasing companies dependent on state support if domestically produced aircraft are to be placed into service at prices carriers can afford. Rather than absorbing the costs through tighter spending by state corporations or a redistribution of surplus budget revenues, the government is considering a direct charge on the final customer.
Regional passengers face the sharpest impact
Air travel remains particularly important in a country with vast distances. For residents of remote regions, flying can be the only practical alternative to journeys by land that take considerably longer. A surcharge on domestic routes would therefore fall most heavily on regional services and on passengers with lower incomes.
Even a charge of several hundred roubles each way can materially increase the cost of a trip for households already under pressure. The proposals thus create a contradiction: the authorities say they need to support regional aviation, while simultaneously making flights less affordable for the people who rely on them.
The immediate risk is that a policy intended to keep the industry operating could reduce demand. Higher fares may depress passenger numbers on regional routes and deepen the transport isolation of remote areas. The proposed funding mechanism would make passengers pay more without addressing why Russian aircraft are so expensive to build and run in the first place.
Short-term support, long-term dependence
An annual transfer of 68bn–84bn roubles could ease pressure on leasing companies and airlines, but it would not resolve the structural problems facing Russian civil aviation. Easy money collected from ticket buyers could remove incentives to reduce costs, improve efficiency and develop genuinely competitive aircraft.
Instead, the scheme would entrench a model in which inefficient state-backed structures are repeatedly financed by the public. Rostec and the relevant ministries have spent years presenting import substitution as a success; the proposed levy suggests that the promised aircraft remain too expensive to produce and operate without substantial external support.
The central question is no longer simply how Russia will fund its new airliners, but who will bear the cost of the strategy. By seeking up to 250bn roubles from passengers over the next four years, the government is placing the financial consequences of its aviation policy on citizens, while leaving unresolved the price gap that made the subsidy necessary.
Should Russia prioritise keeping domestic aircraft in service through passenger levies, or make the industry reform its costs before asking travellers to pay more?
