Ensuring Aviation Accessibility of the Eastern Arctic Regions of the Russian Federation

The article analyses the transport system of Russia’s eastern Arctic regions, identifying its distinctive features and risks of use. The main features are that air transport has no alternative for the organization of passenger transportation, delivery of socially important urgent cargo and provision of sanitary aviation services. The provision of air service to remote settlements in the Eastern Arctic is hampered by: harsh natural and climatic conditions and difficult geological conditions, low population density and its dispersion over a large area, the lack of alternative options for local communication between most settlements and district airports. The lack of landing sites in settlements forces airlines to use helicopter, the flight hour cost of which in Arctic conditions is several times higher than that of light aircraft. As a result, local flights are irregular, with a frequency of one to three times a month. The low frequency of local flights leads to a decrease in air mobility of the population, which is currently between 0.3 and 0.6 trips per inhabitant per year. To solve this problem, the concept of aviation accessibility of Russia’s Eastern Arctic regions has been developed. The concept of regional aviation accessibility consists in structuring the functions and types of air transport services provided to different stakeholders of the region and forming a unified systematic approach to their implementation based on the assessment of aggregate demand.