Passenger flights "Ufa - Istanbul - Ufa" fell by 50%

UFA, 27 January 2016. /Bashinform News Agency, Ksenia Kalinina/. Yesterday, the Ufa International Airport summed up its industrial activity for 2015. In the past year 455 982 people were served on international flights. The indicator compared to the same period of the year before last was down 39%. On January 27, in Ufa, at a press conference organized by the "Kommersant" edition, the representatives of "Turkish Airlines" shared how they managed under the circumstances to maintain their presence in Bashkortostan, what happened with the customer base in the last year.

"Passenger traffic transported by our airline on the routes "Ufa - Istanbul" and "Istanbul - Ufa" fell by 50%. Nationwide Ufa suffered the hardest decrease in tourist traffic. Stavropol and Rostov-on-Don survived, where the index fell by 20%. On November 24 last year, there were events that radically changed the vector of relations between the two countries - Russia and Turkey. In addition, the ruble exchange rate weakened sharply against the euro and dollar, which affected the cost of tickets. The flights were filled with passengers confident in quality service provided by Turkish Airlines, it was them who we relied on. The airlines policy is that Russia always remain and will remain a priority for existing and new routes. From the beginning of the year, we keep the flights load at 67% due to the forced reduction of routes per week. In the winter period, there are four flights a week, instead of six", said the marketing agent of "Turkish Airlines" Rustam Abdrazakov.

As for the cost of tickets, then, according to the company, it was originally pegged to the euro. In the end, buyers purchasing tickets saw an increase in prices by 10-15%. For example, the cost of tickets to Europe - from Ufa to Paris - at the rate of 78 rubles to the euro was at the level of 22 thousand rubles, now it is 28-29 thousand; to Istanbul - about 15 thousand rubles out and return, now - 20-21 thousand rubles.