Russia, Mongolia agree to consider expanding flights

MOSCOW. Dec 20 (Interfax) - The relevant agencies of Russia and Mongolia will make reports on the possibility of expanding flights between the countries in the first quarter of 2025, Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov said after a meeting of the Russian-Mongolian intergovernmental commission, which he co-chairs.

"We have good dynamics in the development of tourism between our countries, we have come back to the pre-pandemic indicators. And we are ready to increase this track, there is demand for that. We need to increase place traffic and the availability of plane. Rosaviatsia and the Mongolian services in charge of this track have been set this task. We will hear reports from these services in the first quarter of 2025," Kozlov told reporters.

In particular, he said relevant agencies will provide data on the number of additional aircraft that can be used by the airlines between the countries and what new products may appear on this track. In the meantime, the task has been set to establish air communication with Ulaanbaatar not only from the cities of central Russia, but also from the Far Eastern cities, for example, Vladivostok, Kozlov said. The Ulaanbaatar airport, among other things, can be used as a hub for flights to the countries of Asia and Europe, he said.

According to information from public sources, there are currently direct flights to Mongolia from Irkutsk (operated by IrAero) and Krasnoyarsk (KrasAero).