Development of the air transport network in the Arctic zone of Eastern Siberia

Abstract

The article addresses the state of the air transport network in the Arctic zone of Eastern Siberia based on the evaluation of the following components: the state of the existing airport network and its geographic location; the existing route network and flight frequency of airlines serving the Arctic regions; the aviation mobility of the population, passenger and cargo traffic of air transport in the Arctic regions; and the structure of the aircraft fleet of airlines operating in the Arctic regions. The study showed that the density of the airport network in the Arctic zone of Eastern Siberia is extremely low and amounts to 0.01 airports per 1000 km2 or 0.18 airports per 1000 inhabitants. For comparison, the density of the airport network in Alaska, with account for private airports, is 0.26 airports per 1000 km2 or 1.06 airports per 1000 inhabitants. The analysis of the route network showed that most of the Arctic zone airports have only one route, connecting the airport with the transit hub, with flights performed 1–2 times a week. The underdevelopment of the route network is caused by the low air mobility of the population in the Arctic zone due to the low population density, the high cost of air transportation, and the high operating costs of airports in the North. To develop the system of air transport in the Arctic zone of Russia, the following programs were proposed: a priority program to subsidize aircraft leasing for local and regional transportation in the Arctic zone and territories of the Far North; a program to subsidize federal state-owned enterprises (FSOEs) that service the airport infrastructure; a program to improve the transport accessibility and price affordability with regard to local and regional air transportation; and a program for IT implementation in aviation activities.