The issue of introducing additional fees from air passengers when buying tickets is not being considered by the Russian Ministry of Transport, a representative of the ministry told Izvestia on Thursday, May 26.
As three sources of Izvestia in the aviation market reported earlier, the Ministry of Transport, TCH and Rostec are discussing the creation of a reserve fund in Russia to support air passengers. The fund’s funds are planned to be spent on fulfilling obligations to passengers in case of force majeure, for example, in the event of bankruptcy of airlines. The fund’s budget is proposed to be replenished at the expense of a new fee when buying an air ticket.
As follows from a letter from TCH vice-president Alexei Shubenkov to the Ministry of Transport dated April 7, in order to form the fund’s budget, “it seems necessary to establish a fee levied on passengers when issuing tickets.” At the same time, as stated in the document, the new fee will not lead to an increase in the cost of air tickets, as “it will be formed through the redistribution of fees established by the current legislation of the Russian Federation.”
On May 25, the All-Russian Association of Passengers (PLO) sent its position to the Ministry of Transport on the issue of establishing a new fee – the association spoke out strongly against it.
The PLO called this initiative redundant, noting that it shifts the financial obligations of airlines to passengers, which is contrary to the state policy for the development of civil aviation. They added that the initiative is not aimed at protecting citizens, but at creating an additional mechanism that will require money for its current functioning.