As part of preparations for the Eastern Economic Forum 2022, a
roundtable entitled Air Transport Accessibility of the Far East: Status and
Development Prospects was held in Vladivostok. Representatives of airlines,
aircraft manufacturers, federal and regional authorities, and aviation experts
discussed a wide range of issues: state support measures aimed at producing new
domestic aircraft to replenish the fleet of airlines in the Far East; developing
a unified Far Eastern airline; and improving the air transport accessibility of
the Far Eastern Federal District.
The event was chaired by Anatoly Bobrakov, Deputy Minister for
the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic. The roundtable was
organized by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Economic Development together with
the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (FEDC). As a reminder, the EEF 2022
will take place in Vladivostok from 5 to 8 September. The Forum's operator is
the Roscongress Foundation.
Anatoly Bobrakov, Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the
Arctic, noted in his welcoming address that the Government of the Russian
Federation and President Vladimir Putin personally pay great attention to the
development of transport accessibility in the Russian Far East and Arctic zone.
The state is subsidizing air travel to the Far East, new routes are being
opened, and airport infrastructure is being built in the Far Eastern regions.
“In 2022, we achieved record levels of air accessibility subsidies
for residents of the Far East. A total of RUB 6.5 billion was allocated to
subsidize flights between the central regions and the Far East, exceeding last
year's figure by RUB 1.5 billion. A decision has been made to automatically
subsidize the transportation for those who qualify for reimbursed travelling. RUB
5.9 billion have been allocated to inter-regional socially significant flights
operated by a single airline from the Far East. I am sure that today during the
roundtable representatives of air carriers, regional and federal authorities, as
well as aircraft manufacturers will share their vision of what we need to do both
in the short and long terms to ensure good air accessibility for the residents
of the Far Eastern Federal District. We will use the ideas and suggestions
received as targets for further joint work. The Ministry of Economic
Development of the Russian Federation is confident that the results of the
roundtable will form the basis for discussions and decision-making at the
aviation sessions of the EEF to develop the aviation accessibility of the Far
Eastern Federal District and stimulate the development of aircraft building in
the region," said Anatoly Bobrakov.
Igor Chalik, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, said in his
welcoming remarks that the Ministry pays special attention to the development
of air travel in the Far East by improving air transport subsidy programmes.
According to Ivan Pechorin, Managing Director of the Far East and Arctic Development
Corporation, aviation plays a key role in the transport accessibility of the
Far East and the Arctic. In most cases, aviation is the only way to get around
the region due to the remoteness of many settlements from major transport
routes, the long distances involved, and the low population density in the
region.
“The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and the
Far East and Arctic Development Corporation, which is subordinate to it, are
actively working to implement the state policy on civil aviation in the Far
East. This is primarily to support civil passenger air travel, as well as to
maintain the timely refurbishment and modernization of airport infrastructure including
the construction of new take-off and landing sites. The FEDC provides
comprehensive support for the integration processes among the airlines that
make up Aurora, the unified Far Eastern airline,” said Ivan Pechorin.
Vladimir Poteshkin, Deputy Head of Rosaviatsia, spoke about the progress of state
support programmes for air transport in the Far Eastern Federal District.
“The state supports affordability of air transportation from and to
the Far East under three programmes: subsidizing regional flights (Resolution
No. 1242 of the Russian Government); ensuring the availability of flights
(Resolution No. 215 of the Russian Government); and subsidizing a single Far
East airline (Resolution No. 1172 of the Russian Government). Under the
programme for subsidizing regional flights (Resolution No.1242) 9 airlines are
currently flying to 51 destinations. The work is progressing well. As of 1 July
2022, over 53,000 passengers have been carried and 1,194 flights have taken
place. Under the programme to ensure the availability of transportation (Decree
No. 215), 10 companies are operating flights on 92 routes in the Far Eastern
Federal District. Under this programme, over 1 million passengers are expected
to be carried in 2022, and as of 1 July, over 658,000 passengers had already
been carried. Under the programme to subsidize a single Far East airline
(Decree No. 1172), 36 socially significant routes have been approved for 2022,
and at least 7,300 flights are scheduled. As of 1 July, 2,831 flights have
already been operated. Air transport accessibility to the Far East is an important
segment of Rosaviatsia's daily work. The decisions that will be taken today
during the roundtable will add new goals and objectives to our work," said
Vladimir Poteshkin.
The roundtable participants discussed the problems of accessibility
of air travel to and within the Far East macro-region.
Konstantin Sukhorebrik, CEO of Aurora Airlines said: “The work of Aurora Airlines and other
regional airlines takes place within the framework of the implementation of
Russian Government Decree No. 1172 on subsidizing a single Far East airline. We
have an ambitious goal to transport 250,000 people on 36 socially significant
routes. Here are our intermediate results. During the first 6 months of 2022 we
have already carried 147,000 people. In addition, 62,000 tickets were sold.
Therefore, we are optimistic about the end of the year and we are sure that we
will fulfil the task. But I would also like to mention some key problems. The
first problem is the shortage of aircraft, particularly regional aircraft. The second
problem is infrastructural constraints due to airport slots. And the third is
the difference in standards between our airlines.”
The CEO of Aurora noted that the roundtable meeting is historic: in
addition to air carriers, it is attended by representatives of all aircraft
manufacturers in the Russian Federation. “This is the first time we are meeting
in this format. Therefore, today's roundtable is extremely important for all
parties. It is a good opportunity to discuss industry issues face-to-face, to
make a step towards common operational standards, to reconcile working plans,”
said the speaker.
Reports on import substitution in the aircraft industry, maintenance
of airworthiness of the current fleet and its completion with new domestic
aircraft were made at the event by representatives of major companies: Boris Fedorov, Chief Expert of the
Institute of Economics of Transport and Transport Policy of the National
Research University Higher School of Economics, Zakhar Khudenko, Director General of Aviashelf, Mikhail Karpushkin, Deputy Managing
Director for Marketing, Sales and After-Sales Service at U-UAZ (Russian
Helicopters Corporation).
Mikhail Peresadin, Deputy Director of the Aviation Industry Department of the Russian
Ministry of Industry and Trade, noted that a large number of aviation industry
enterprises are concentrated in the Far Eastern Federal District. Plants in
Komsomolsk-on-Amur, in Arsenyev, and in Ulan-Ude are working to rapidly replace
and renew the fleet of domestic airlines with Russian-made aircraft.
“In accordance with the order of the President of the Russian
Federation, a unified Far Eastern airline has been formed and is successfully
operating. Between now and 2026, it should receive 45 aircraft of various
classes. These are IL-114, IL-410, light multipurpose aircraft LMS-901 Baikal,
and a new Sukhoi Superjet with import substitution of all major units and
systems. Then a new turboprop regional aircraft TVRS-44 Ladoga with 44 seats
will be added to them. All the necessary orders have been received and the
financing mechanism has been determined. The latest aircraft models are in
development. They are the medium-range MS-21-310 aircraft powered by a Russian
engine and the Sukhoi Superjet New, a short-haul passenger aircraft designed to
carry from 87 to 108 passengers within a range of 4,600 kilometres. I would
like to express confidence that we will not only meet the current aircraft
delivery plan, but will also be ready to meet additional demand for aircraft,
including helicopters, in order to provide all the segments of the route
network with new domestically made machines,” Mikhail Peresadin emphasized.
Kirill Budaev, Director of Marketing and Sales at Irkut Corporation (produces MS-21, IL-114 and Sukhoi Superjet aircraft) said: “The task of Irkut Corporation is to provide Far East carriers with quality Sukhoi Superjet and IL-114 aircraft, the serial production of which will start next year, and to provide technical support for the aircraft to be operated by aviation enterprises at various airports as part of the import substitution programme. We will have to deal with the organization of storage facilities at the base airports, logistics, engineering support, supply of spare parts, and pilot training. We are preparing a plan to pilot the new aircraft types, which will ensure their soft commissioning and efficient roll-out”.
The final decisions of the Air Transport Accessibility of the Far East: Status and Prospects for Development roundtable will be discussed at the industry aviation session of the 7th Eastern Economic Forum, to be held in Vladivostok from 5 to 8 September 2022. The official website of the EEF: forumvostok.ru.
