Things gone and things still here

Although the global downturn has reduced Russian air passenger traffic, private and public investment in the country’s airport infrastructure is expected to reach some 40 billion rubles ($1.15 billion) in 2009. However, not all the development plans will survive the crisis.
The Russian airport industry followed the global dynamics in 2008. According to the Airports Council International (ACI), last year’s international performance was made up of two opposite trends. In the first five months of the year there was still some growth in passenger traffic, but in June, right before the high season, this growth was replaced by a decline that continued until year-end. The downturn resulted from the high oil prices. According to the ACI’s preliminary data, the global industry serviced 4.5 billion passengers in 2008, which is 0.2% lower than the year before. Overall airport movements dropped by 2.2% to 66.9 million (the data are for 900 airports world-wide, or 93% of the entire industry; full-year results, covering 1200 airports around the world, are to be published in July 2009).
Last year, Russian airports kept doing well slightly longer than the global industry as a whole, with passenger numbers starting to fall in September rather than June. From there, however, it all went downhill: the autumn figures for passengers handled by airports in Russia were lower than the same period in 2007. This was not due to the economic crisis alone but also because of the high kerosene prices that were driving air fares up; of several high-profile airline bankruptcies during the year; and of some carriers having slashed their route networks due to the scheduled retirement of Soviet-era airliners.
Overall, though, 2008 proved a successful year for Russian airports, which together recorded over 44 million emplanements, marking a 10% increase in passenger traffic. Taking into account passenger arrivals, this means that the country’s airports handled about 80 million passengers last year.
But the negative trend has not gone anywhere: this year started with a 20% drop in passenger numbers. The high season may yet turn the tide, but even then the full-year decline in traffic is still projected at 13-15%.
As passenger numbers keep shrinking, airports become more tight-lipped about their plans for the future — almost all of them decline to comment on any cancelled or delayed development projects.
The eight years of growth in Russian air passenger traffic were accompanied by growing public and private investment in the development of airports. Aleksandr Aldonin, head of the airport development department at the Rosaviatsia federal air transport authority, says public investment in Russia’s airport infrastructure exceeded 24 billion rubles in 2008. This year the sum will be reduced to 21 billion rubles due to the economic crisis.