Since Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Western countries have imposed a range of sanctions aimed at deterring further Russian aggression in Europe. However, these sanctions proved ineffective in preventing Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In response, Western nations imposed even harsher sanctions, including cutting off much of the economic activity tied to Russia’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector. Despite these measures, European countries have not fully severed ties with Russian LNG, and the true impact of the sanctions on this industry remains underexplored. Given the LNG sector’s reliance on the commercial aviation industry for transporting both supplies and personnel, analyzing aviation traffic could provide valuable insights into the economic health of Russia’s LNG industry. This research aims to identify Russian airports with significant economic and traffic ties to the LNG sector and to examine trends in aviation traffic volume over time, assessing whether it has declined since the imposition of Western sanctions in 2022.
Analyzing Commercial Air Traffic Tied to the Russian Liquified Natural Gas Industry