Frank satisfies everyone (480 words)

Published: 9/15/2000

Sergey Frank`s wish to satisfy interests of various interest groups by putting their nominees in key positions in the Ministry of Transport and its department, the State Civil Aviation Authority (RosAvia), has hardly added strength to the weakened aviation regulator. The apparent affinity between many of the appointees and some of the industry's leading player will simply create difficulties in drawing new lines of responsibility and establishing a new structure. In early August, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov appointed three Deputy Ministers of Transport overseeing the air transport sector. Former head of FSVT`s safety oversight department, Alexander Neradko, was appointed First Deputy Minister - Head of State Civil Aviation Authority (RosAvia) and is said to be close to the East Line Group. A few days later, Pavel Rozhkov, former head of FSVT international relations department, who had previously worked as Aeroflot Commercial Director, was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport, responsible for International Cooperation. The last appointment was made in mid-August, when former FAAR general secretary, Karl Ruppel, was appointed Deputy Minister of Transport - General Secretary. Until recently, Ruppel was considered as a neutral candidate, but is reported, as with Pavel Rozhkov, to be close to Aeroflot. Recent reports suggest that Ruppel is linked to Roman Abramovich, a prominent businessman and member of the notorious Kremlin family. Why Abramovich, who does not run any airline business (as opposed to the Abramovich bothers, who run KrasAir and SibAviaTrans), would want to have his man in the Transport Ministry is unclear, but in the nature of Russian commerce, not being in a business one week does not mean that you might not be in it the next. In the meantime, Alexander Neradko has made the first appointments for the new body, appointing Viktor Galkin Head of Air Traffic Management and Goryachev as Head of Economics Department. Surprisingly, Vitaly Pavlyuk, formerly head of the international relations and succeeded by Pavel Rozhkov last year, was re-appointed to his previous post. According to the provisional organizational layout, the two Deputy Ministers, Rozhkov and Ruppel, will be subordinate to first Deputy Minister Nerdako, rather than reporting directly to Frank. The two will oversee various departments in RosAvia, except for several crucial departments, such as ATM department, safety oversight and flight operations, which are likely to report directly to Neradko. Neradko is reported to be urging greater emphasis on safety and believes that RosAvia must not get overly involved in regulating economic relations between airlines. He will, however, enforce the policy of his predecessor, Andreyev, on certification, continuing to make it difficult if not impossible for single aircraft operators to obtain a valid a/o certificate. Having created this balance of power interests, Frank still has to confirm RosAvia, which operates on a provisional basis until 1st November. What will happen after remains unclear, particularly given the ever-present rumours of a merger of the powerful Ministry of Railways with the Ministry of Transport.

Article ID: 2074