Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has instructed the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport, and Rosaviatsiya to work out the acceptance of JET A-1 aviation kerosene of both Russian and imported origin by Russian fuel and refuelling complexes (FFCs). The corresponding proposals should provide for the possibility of refuelling aircraft with such fuel, as well as blending it with the widely used in Russia RT and TS-1 grades in the tanks of airport FFCs, two sources familiar with the content of the instructions told RBC.
This refers to the most common type of aviation kerosene 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.
Furthermore, according to sources, authorities are discussing the retention of the damping support mechanism for consumers of imported JET A-1 aviation kerosene. Novak ordered to work out the possibility of providing such compensations when using imported fuel, by analogy with kerosene of Russian origin.
The kerosene damping mechanism has been in effect for airlines since 2021. The state compensates them for 65% of the difference between the export price of fuel and the cut-off value set for the year. In 2026, the cut-off level is 67,300 RUB per tonne.
A separate set of instructions concerns the logistics of imported aviation kerosene. The Deputy Prime Minister instructed to work out the issues of receiving JET A-1 kerosene delivered by sea transport. This concerns the identification of unloading ports, terminals, discharge points, storage, 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 have not been published since 13 May, when the fuel price was 82,750 RUB per tonne. According to an RBC source in the oil industry, increased demand for aviation fuel is recorded at the St. Petersburg Exchange: as of Monday, 1 June, its price reached 110,000 RUB per tonne, approximately 33% higher than the last publicly available value. The corresponding exchange index is not currently displayed on the trading platform's website.
The RBC source also reported that only 180 tonnes of aviation fuel were sold during the trading session on 1 June. For comparison, over the entire 2025, about 1.674 million tonnes of aviation kerosene had been sold on the exchange (source).
An RBC source at one of Russia’s major airports said that in recent weeks Rosaviatsiya has stepped up monitoring of kerosene availability at FFCs, which is linked to a potential aviation fuel shortage. The source attributes the shortage to an increase in 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 operate its transport programme as usual,” a ministry representative told RBC. “Flights are operating on schedule. Several independent aviation kerosene producers and alternative fuel supply companies are operating in each region. The situation with energy supplies to airports, including those in the capital region, is traditionally under constant monitoring by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy.”
The representative reminded of the temporary ban on aviation kerosene exports from Russia imposed by the government until 30 November. “The goal is to ensure a stable situation on the domestic fuel market,” the Ministry of Transport explained.
Sergey Tereshkin, General Director of the Open Oil Market petroleum products marketplace, believes that this involves easing the rules on importing aviation fuel, which will help mitigate the risks of shortages. Indirectly, this indicates that unscheduled repairs may have affected the output of light petroleum products in general and aviation kerosene in particular, although a fuller picture is only visible to regulators who have data on fuel production broken down by specific refineries.
According to him, the logic of the decision fully meets market needs: in conditions of growing shortage risks, it makes sense to ease fuel import rules. Much depends on the delivery distance, including from Turkey and China—the nearest geographically countries that produce aviation fuel. The expert also noted that the damping mechanism for aviation kerosene is paid not to refineries but to airlines.
After the US and Israeli attack on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a number of regions experienced aviation fuel shortages and rising kerosene prices. In the two weeks from late April to early May, global airlines cut 2 million seats from their May schedules due to concerns about fuel availability in the coming weeks, the Financial Times reported.
When Russia previously imported aviation kerosene
Russia’s aviation industry has already faced the need to import aviation kerosene by sea from abroad. At the end of 2010, AeroFuelz, one of the country’s largest FFC operators, supplied aviation kerosene by sea from South Korea to the Far East using 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 overseas fuel delivery costs to be recovered.
At that time, refuelling problems in the region were triggered by high ex-refinery fuel prices, and imports of fuel into the country began for the first time in ten years.
On Monday, 1 June, in a statement accompanying its first-quarter IFRS results, Aeroflot separately described its kerosene costs as “relatively stable” and added that they “did not have a significant impact on the overall cost trends.” The company believes that “the main challenges on this line item are still ahead” but links this to rising fuel prices at foreign airports, “which will be reflected in the reporting for subsequent periods.” Aeroflot stated that aviation fuel costs in the first quarter “remained almost unchanged from the first quarter of 2025” at 70.4 billion RUB, while the average cost per tonne “decreased by 6.2%, yet remained high.” “Fuel damping payments increased to the level of the first quarter of 2024 against the backdrop of rising export kerosene prices,” the airline added.
RBC sent requests to the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Transport, and Rosaviatsiya, the office of Deputy Prime Minister Novak, as well as to the press services of Aeroflot, S7, Ural Airlines, Azimuth, Azur Air, and UVT Aero.
Source: RBC
