Koltsovo airport of Yekaterinburg handled fewer flights bound for the south and east of Russia in July 2008. For instance, the number of passengers who traveled to Sochi, Anapa, and Krasnodar through Koltsovo airport went down, while the number of passenger flights to Turkey only increased by 24% in July 2008 compared to 33% a month earlier, the spokesperson for the airport reports. The airport believes this can be explained by soaring jet fuel prices.

Koltsovo airport’s General Director Kirill Shubin says the market can be faced with stagnation as soon as 2009, should the price growth continue.