PRESS: Airlines call for state regulation of prices in Moscow airports

MOSCOW, Aug 28 (PRIME) -- The Russian Air Transport Operators Association has asked the Federal Antimonopoly Service to bring back state regulation of tariffs in Moscow airports as prices for their services grew significantly after the regulation was abolished in February 2016, Kommersant business daily reported on Monday.

In a letter to the service’s Deputy Head Alexander Neradko, the association said that prices for fuel and airport services grew too fast from July 2016 through August 2017. Fueling became 12% more expensive, the cost of passenger transportation rose by 18%, of catering by 6%, of servicing of international flights passengers by 10%, of aviation security by 8%, and of plane cleaning services by 4%, Kommersant reported citing the letter.

As a result, the cost of servicing of, for instance, an Airbus A320 loaded with 100 passengers grew by 15% on average, the association said.

A service representative said that it will study the letter, while a source familiar with the position of the service said that Moscow airports always provide a financial basis for their actions to the service.

Since January 1, fees in Vnukovo airport have risen by 9% excluding navigation and refueling, while fees in Domodedovo airport have risen by almost 34%, and in Sheremetyevo by 16.1%. According to Kommersant, the average daily growth of fees in Vnukovo amounts to 5.4%, in Sheremetyevo to 9.4%, and in Domodedovo by 20.3%.

A source told the business daily that the fast increase of tariffs in Domodedovo happened due to under-financing in previous years. Domodedovo and Sheremetyevo are also carrying out large-scale construction using money they receive from air transport operators, and tariffs will grow even faster if the airports are switched to a long-term regulation of tariffs, the source said.

A Domodedovo representative said that the statistics provided by the association is incorrect as it does not take into account accumulated inflation since the previous tariff increase. A Sheremetyevo representative said, “The annual rate growth of the airport fees for servicing of aircraft does not exceed inflation.” But airlines polled by Kommersant supported the position of the association.

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