PRESS: Govt may use Aeroflot’s royalty to create special aid fund

MOSCOW, Oct 11 (PRIME) -- The Russian government is discussing creation of a special fund to help passengers of bankrupt airlines using royalty payments of national air carrier Aeroflot, Vedomosti business daily reported on Wednesday.

In September, troubled airline VIM-Avia failed to cope with financial difficulties and had problems with carrying passengers. The Federal Air Transport Agency’s Head Alexander Neradko suggested creation of a special fund to help passengers of bankrupt airlines. If airlines pay even 10 rubles per sold ticket to the fund, it will amount to 1 billion rubles, which will be enough in case a large carrier stops operations, Neradko said then.

On October 4, Yevgeny Moskvichyov, head of the transport committee of the parliament’s lower house State Duma, said that creation of an insurance fund will not lead to a higher fare, and that it will be formed with non-budget sources, Kommersant reported.

Sources told the business daily that the government is discussing forming the fund with Trans-Siberian royalties of Aeroflot that the airline receives from foreign air carriers for non-stop flights from Europe to Asia above Siberia. Aeroflot sends part of the royalty to the Federal Air Transport Agency, which will use 2 billion rubles of the money as a one-time payment to the fund named Aviapomoshch, Kommersant said.

A ministry representative told the business daily that a working group of the Transport Ministry is working to create the fund. The agency and Aeroflot declined to comment, but top managers of three other Russian airlines told Kommersant that they are against the fund if it will lead to even a slightest increase in ticket prices.

(58.0713 rubles – U.S. $1)

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