Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has instructed the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport, and Rosaviatsia to look into the possibility of Russian fuel supply complexes (FSCs) accepting aviation kerosene of the JET A-1 grade, both of Russian and imported origin. The relevant proposals should include the possibility of refuelling aircraft with such fuel, as well as blending it with the widely used Russian grades RT and TS-1 in the tanks of airport FSCs, two sources familiar with the instructions told RBC.
This concerns the most common type of aviation kerosene used in international civil aviation. In Russia, the main grades of aviation fuel remain TS-1 and RT, while JET A-1 is considered the international industry standard and is used by most foreign airlines.
In addition, according to the sources, the authorities are discussing the continuation of the damping support mechanism for consumers of imported JET A-1 aviation kerosene. Novak has instructed to explore the possibility of providing such compensation for the use of imported fuel, similar to kerosene of Russian origin.
The kerosene damper has been in place for airlines since 2021. The state compensates them for 65% of the difference between the export price of fuel and the annual threshold set for the year. In 2026, this threshold level is 67,300 roubles per tonne.
A separate set of instructions concerns the logistics of imported aviation kerosene. The Deputy Prime Minister has instructed to address the issues of receiving JET A-1 kerosene delivered by sea. This involves identifying unloading ports, terminals, discharge points, storage facilities, and subsequent transshipment of fuel to rail transport.
Why the need for imported fuel arose
Discussion of additional measures is taking place against the backdrop of rising aviation fuel prices. Exchange data on aviation kerosene has not been published since 13 May, when the fuel price stood at 82,750 roubles per tonne. According to an RBC source in the oil industry, the St. Petersburg Stock Exchange is seeing increased demand for aviation fuel: as of Monday, 1 June, its price reached 110,000 roubles per tonne, roughly 33% higher than the last publicly available value. The corresponding exchange index is currently not displayed on the trading platform's website.
The RBC source also reported that during the trading session on 1 June, only 180 tonnes of aviation fuel were sold. For comparison, over the entire 2025, approximately 1.674 million tonnes of aviation kerosene were sold on the exchange.
An RBC source at one of Russia's major airports says that in recent weeks Rosaviatsia has stepped up monitoring of kerosene availability at FSCs, which is linked to a potential shortage of aviation fuel. He associates the shortfall of kerosene with the increased frequency of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries since early May.
The Ministry of Transport, for its part, states that Russian airports have the necessary reserve of aviation fuel.
"Russia's civil aviation continues to carry out its transport programme as normal," an official from the ministry told RBC. "Flights are operating on schedule. The country has several independent producers of aviation kerosene, as well as alternative refuelling companies in each region. The situation with energy supply at airports, including those in the capital region, is traditionally under constant monitoring by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy."
He recalled the government's temporary ban on the export of aviation kerosene from Russia until 30 November. "The goal is to ensure a stable situation in the domestic fuel market," the Ministry of Transport explained.
Sergei Tereshkin, CEO of the oil products marketplace Open Oil Market, believes that this is about easing rules on the import of aviation fuel, which will help mitigate the risks of a shortage. This indirectly suggests that unscheduled repairs could have affected the output of light petroleum products in general and aviation kerosene specifically, although a fuller picture is only visible to regulators, who have data on fuel production broken down by specific refineries.
The logic of the decision, in his view, is entirely consistent with market needs: in the face of increasing shortage risks, it is advisable to ease fuel import rules. However, much depends on the delivery distance, including from Turkey and China — the geographically closest countries producing aviation fuel. The expert also noted that the damper on aviation kerosene is paid not to refineries, but to airlines.
Following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a shortage of aviation fuel emerged in several regions, and kerosene prices rose. Over two weeks in late April to early May, global airlines reduced the number of seats in their May schedules by 2 million due to concerns about fuel availability in the coming weeks, the Financial Times reported.
When Russia previously imported aviation kerosene
The Russian aviation industry has faced the need to import aviation kerosene by sea before. In late 2010, AeroFuelz, one of the country's largest FSC operators, supplied aviation kerosene by sea from South Korea to the Far East on its own tanker with a capacity of 2,500 tonnes. Even accounting for logistics costs and customs duties (then 5%), the "into-wing" refuelling prices allowed the costs of delivering fuel from abroad to be recovered.
At that time, problems with refuelling aircraft in the region were triggered by high ex-refinery fuel prices, and fuel imports into the country began for the first time in ten years.
Aeroflot, on Monday 1 June, in a statement accompanying its first-quarter IFRS results, specifically described kerosene costs as "relatively stable" and added that they "did not have a significant impact on overall cost dynamics." The company believes that "the main challenges on this line item are yet to come," but attributes this to the rise in fuel prices at foreign airports, "which will be reflected in the reports of subsequent periods." Aeroflot stated that aviation fuel costs in the first quarter "remained almost at the level of the first quarter of 2025" at 70.4 billion roubles, and the average cost per tonne "decreased by 6.2%, while remaining high." "Payments under the fuel damper increased to the level of the first quarter of 2024, driven by the rise in the export price of kerosene," the airline added.
RBC has sent inquiries to the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport, Rosaviatsia, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Novak, as well as to the press offices of Aeroflot, S7, Ural Airlines, Azimuth, Azur Air, and UVT Aero.
Source: RBC
