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- No unnecessary shackles: reducing infrastructure requirements could make flights cheaper
No unnecessary shackles: reducing infrastructure requirements could make flights cheaper
Reducing redundant requirements for the design, construction and reconstruction of regional airport infrastructure will significantly reduce its cost while maintaining the level of safety and will make flights more affordable for the population. Part of the work to optimize the requirements of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation has already been done, the roadmap for other changes has been agreed upon, said Alexei Tsydenov, the head of the State Council's commission for the direction "Efficient Transport System", Governor of Buryatia. What criteria can be changed and how the cost of tickets will be reduced, "Izvestia" analyzed.
Adjustment of the situation
Optimization of requirements to regional airport infrastructure is aimed at reducing redundant regulations while maintaining a high level of security, Valery Tumin, Director of Russia and CIS markets, told Izvestia. The Russian Ministry of Transport and Rosaviatsia have already adjusted a number of regulatory documents and prepared a roadmap for further work.
- Among the possible changes may be the introduction of the concept of "low intensity of aircraft traffic" for airports with the number of take-off and landing operations (TTO) not more than six per day and 1500 per year. This will allow applying simplified standards for such facilities," the expert noted.
Such measures will help to reduce the cost of construction, repair, reconstruction and operation of airports serving regional and small aviation - and this will reduce airport fees.
The reduction of excessive requirements will not affect the cost of air tickets, said, in turn, associate professor of the basic department of state and municipal property management IGSU Presidential Academy, ex-director of the airport Tolmachevo Alexander Borodin.
- The cost of airport services in the cost of tickets is very small. But for the investment attractiveness of airports the reduction of requirements for construction and reconstruction will be very helpful, - he believes.
Development directions
Russia has a fairly large-scale practice of subsidizing regional air transportation, which is explained by both the vast territory of the country and the lack of alternative means of transportation, said Andrei Makarov, senior researcher at the Center for Spatial Economics of IPEI RANEPA RANEPA RANEPA Andrey Makarov. For example, when it comes to some areas of the Far East.
- Taking into account the risks of budget funding cuts, on the one hand, it is possible to recommend a thorough expert and public discussion to select exactly those routes that should receive a substantial subsidy in the first place. On the other hand, it is possible to increase the flexibility of subsidies in terms of taking into account seasonal fluctuations in demand," the expert noted in a conversation with Izvestia.
Another direction of aviation development is the combination of subsidized and commercial transportation, when transportation to the nearest large air center is financed and then the passenger travels on a plane that pays off within the framework of traditional air transportation, he explained.
Another possible direction of improvement of the state program is the development of subsidizing flights not between regions, but within the subject.
- For example, this is relevant for Yakutia and other large regions with difficulties in ground transportation, where aviation, including small aviation, may be in demand for access to health care facilities and other social objects. Researchers note that such areas are characterized by low population density and solvency, which may mean that it is impossible to develop small aviation on a market basis," he added.
The work on optimization of construction has been quite active since 2024, Elina Kulieva, Senior Director for Corporate Ratings at Expert RA, said in a conversation with Izvestia. The Ministry of Transport is removing a number of redundant restrictions in terms of aviation safety. The requirements for small airports will be optimized.
- These changes will be most relevant for remote regional airports, in hard-to-reach regions, such as the Far East, where infrastructure is critical to ensure transportation accessibility. The reduction of tariffs will also depend on the actions of the regulator and the macro environment (inflationary prerequisites and other factors)," she believes.
However, in her opinion, if a number of measures are taken to optimize and simplify construction requirements for large airports, this will obviously have an impact on the reduction of airport charges and final prices for air tickets and passenger traffic growth.
The construction of a new airport complex or its large-scale repair or expansion is often accompanied by an increase in airport service fees, as the airport needs to service and repay the attracted investment financing, Alexander Gushchin, Senior Director of the Corporate Ratings Group of ACRA, told Izvestia.
- Though not a key item in the structure of airlines' operating expenses, the growth of such payments affects either the carrier's profitability or the ticket price. Implementation of solutions in terms of standardization of design and construction may contribute to their cheaper prices, and subsequently have a positive impact on the dynamics of airport tariffs, - he said.
The Ministry of Transport forwarded Izvestia's request to the Ministry of Transport, but at the time of publication no reply had been received.
Earlier it became known that all domestic air carriers are obliged by September 2025 to have an internal document that justifies their tariff policy. Its absence will be considered a violation.
At the moment, the antimonopoly regulator is studying the commercial policies of 15 airlines. The Center for Strategic Developments in Transport expects that the innovation will become a tool for future objective control by the FAS.
Experts in civil air transportation note that excessive restrictions may reduce the inflow of investment in infrastructure development and control over the technical condition of the air fleet, so solutions must be balanced.
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