Aeroflot in 2026: How Its Fleet and Routes Have Changed After International Sanctions

History and positioning

After decades as the monopoly airline of the Soviet Union, Aeroflot became a majority state-owned carrier competing internationally, before having to heavily reorient its business toward the Russian domestic market from 2022, when sanctions and the closure of Western airspace cut off much of its former international network.

The fleet

In 2026 the mainline fleet numbers about 171 aircraft, still largely Boeing and Airbus jets kept flying through parallel-import spare parts and cannibalization of other aircraft, while the long-term renewal plan rests on an order for 266 Irkut MC-21 jets of Russian manufacture, with the aim of raising the share of Russian-built aircraft to 70% of the fleet by 2030.

Routes and network

In 2025 the Aeroflot group carried about 55.3 million passengers, with domestic traffic (almost 42 million) well above international (about 13.4 million), a reversal of the pre-2022 balance. The Sheremetyevo hub remains the center of a network now focused on Russian domestic routes and a narrower set of countries still open to Russian carriers.

What passengers say

Independent international reviews have become harder to find, given the reduced presence on routes to the West; where recent feedback exists, it focuses on the domestic experience, with the most discussed themes being the age and maintenance of the fleet under sanctions and, at the same time, generally reliable punctuality on the main domestic routes.

Aeroflot today is realistically relevant mainly to those flying within Russia or on a narrower set of international routes still served, not to those comparing it with the big European or Gulf carriers. It is not an option for trips departing from the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and several other countries that have closed their airspace to Russian carriers. If you book Aeroflot from an origin that is still permitted, check the aircraft type on your specific route in advance, because fleet assignments have changed quite a bit in the management of its Western jets under sanctions.