Russia playing for time (244 words)

Published: 7/4/2001

The GSGA has fired an early shot in the battle that is likely to emerge over the enforcement of the sound regulations by the European air space authorities after April 2002. It is reported to be considering restrictions on European flights to Russia after the April deadline if, as expected, the European authorities exclude the many Russian aircraft that fail to meet the ICAO level 3 standards. Pavel Rozhkov, Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia, quoted by Interfax, has said that: "If European countries establish limits for flights of Russian airlines to Europe, we shall not see Western European companies continuing to fly to Russia. Russia will consider the issue of limiting the flights of European airlines." In fact, the Russia government has recently referred to the need to bring the Russian air transport fleet up to European standards and there has been considerable leeway offered by the European authorities over the installation of TACIS equipment, with many extensions, even after the first delay of the deadline. The rumbling from the GSGA appears to be a statement largely designed for a domestic audience: its actions this summer has proved that it is committed to the improvement of the quality of the fleet and has made moves against those carriers it considers to be substandard. However, the more noise the GSGA and Russian carriers make, the more likely they are to gain concessions on compliance.

Article ID: 2623