S7 expects cargo traffic to grow by up to 10% in 2023

NOVOSIBIRSK. June 28 (Interfax) - Russian airline S7 expects cargo traffic to grow by up to 10% in 2023, primarily thanks to the second half of the year, S7 Cargo CEO Ilya Yaroslavtsev told Interfax.

"Cargo traffic should increase compared to 2022. Everything will depend on [...] the rate policies of carriers and, if we're talking about international markets, on the impact of sanctions [...] I think the increase will be no more than 10% compared to 2022," Yaroslavtsev said on the sidelines of the tenth International Siberian Transport Forum in Novosibirsk on Wednesday.

The summer season is slow for cargo carriers, so the airline plans to increase cargo shipments on the back of results for the third and fourth quarters, he said.

Yaroslavtsev said at the conference that S7's cargo traffic slumped 10% to 44,000 tonnes in 2022, plunging 60% on international routes and dipping 3% on domestic flights.