Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport is the largest in the region by departure seats.
Despite international sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the country’s aviation market remains the largest in Central and Eastern Europe by capacity thanks to the strength of its domestic offering.
Overall domestic capacity within Russia is at about 97% of 2019 levels during the second quarter of this year (Q2) and accounts for three in every four seats offered from the country. However, the ban on flights to and from Russia from countries in the European Union, as well as the UK, the U.S. and others, means that international capacity lags at 58.6% of Q2 2019.
Poland is the second-largest aviation market in the region, with the 7.8 million seats available from and within the country during Q2 2024, representing a 13.1% increase on pre-pandemic levels. Romania’s market is also up by 9%, Hungary by 4%, Croatia by 20% and Serbia by 41%.
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The biggest capacity growth on a percentage bases is in Albania, where the number of seats has surged from just over 520,000 during Q2 2019 to more than 1.8 million in Q2 2024. The rise is largely due to expansion in the country by Ryanair and Wizz Air.
Ryanair and Wizz Air are also the second- and third-largest providers of capacity from and within the Central and Eastern Europe region during Q2 2024, behind Russia’s Aeroflot in first place.
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