Despite heavy international sanctions and the impact of the ongoing war against Ukraine, the number of passengers passing through Russia's largest air hub, Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, increased by 28.7% annually in 2023. Last year, the airport recorded around 36.6 million passengers, with an increase of 22% in domestic flights and 50% in international traffic. The data was provided by the airport's deputy general director Andrey Nikulin, Interfax news agency quotes. Despite the growth in 2021, which brought with it the fallout from the attack on Kiev, the number of travelers is still well below the 49.9 million in 2019, the last year before the coronavirus pandemic and before the war. Currently, only two of Sheremetyevo's five passenger terminals are operational. Immediately after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, EU members and several other countries suspended all forms of air traffic with Russia while simultaneously imposing sanctions on Russian aviation.
