Flight numbers are taking off for Russia's top airline

Russia’s largest air carrier Aeroflot has recorded a significant uptick in the number of its flights this summer, despite sanctions against the country, Aviation Source News reported over the weekend, citing flight data.

Between July 4 and 11, Aeroflot operated 789 flights, a nearly 68% increase from the same period last year, the outlet reported on its website, quoting figures from flight-tracking company RadarBox.

The iconic Russian airline was just 29 flights short of reaching the total recorded during the same period in 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic and the sanctions related to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine, Aviation Source News notes. The number of flights has been steadily increasing since the beginning of the summer, it adds, attributing the rise to a rapid growth in domestic flights and to “some international market growth.”

Western sanctions imposed on Moscow last year banned Russian carriers from flying to destinations in the US and the EU. Moscow, however, recently resumed direct air links with Georgia and Cuba, and has announced plans for direct flights to Indonesia. Aeroflot continues flights to a wide array of destinations across Asia.

The sanctions also prohibited the world’s largest aircraft makers, Boeing and Airbus, from providing parts, maintenance and technical support to airlines or to maintenance companies in Russia.

Moscow has since kickstarted the development of substitutes for imported planes, pledging billions to expand the domestically built fleet.

According to RadarBox figures, Aeroflot’s second most-active aircraft type, after the Airbus A320, is the Sukhoi Superjet 100, a regional aircraft designed by Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation.

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