Due to the current sanctions against Russia in the aviation industry, Vnukovo Airport and other Moscow airports are working on optimizing costs and have introduced a downtime regime for employees.
“Vnukovo Airport is forced to cut costs (…) Recruitment has been closed for personnel, downtime has been introduced, due to reduced workload, part-time work has been offered to employees,” a Vnukovo representative said.
During downtime, the employees will receive two-thirds of the salary and will retain their job and the right to medical care under VHI.
At the end of March, Sheremetyevo and its subsidiaries, against the backdrop of a drop in air travel, sent 20% of their employees to downtime.
Domodedovo said at the time that management was discussing the transfer of staff to part-time employment and shift work schedules based on the actual volume of traffic.
In March, Domodedovo’s passenger traffic fell 24% year-on-year to 1.3 million people, the airport reported. Other airports of the Moscow air hub did not disclose traffic data for March, and the statistics of the Federal Air Transport Agency were not published either.
After the Russian invasion to Ukraine, the aviation authorities of the European Union, Great Britain, Canada and the United States closed their airspace to Russian carriers. Air traffic within Russia is also partially limited: since February 24, 11 airports in the central part and in the south of the country have been closed.
