All news

Medvedev calls for better use of Russia’s air transit potential

“We should think how to use it better because we are trusted in this respect and air transit is a serious resource,” the prime minister said

MOSCOW (Vnukovo), June 20 (Itar-Tass) — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said it was necessary to make better use of Russia’s air transit potential as he was attending a conference on organizing air traffic on Wednesday.

“We should think how to use it better because we are trusted in this respect and air transit is a serious resource,” the prime minister said, adding that it should be considered both from the state and commercial points of view.

Alexander Neradko, the head of the Russian Air Navigation Authority, agrees that Russia has enormous transit potential. He said that foreign users had great trust in the work of the Air Traffic Organization. To confirm his words, Neradko said that more than 300 cross-polar flights were carried out in 2001 when Russia opened its airspace to flights on cross-polar routes. The figure reached almost 10,000 in 2011.

Polls conducted among foreign pilots show that the quality of air navigation services in Russia matched world standards.

As he was summing up the conference’s results, the Russian prime minister stressed the need to adjust a federal target program of organizing air traffic if it needed adjustment. Specialized agencies insist that the program be included in the state program. In this connection, Medvedev ordered the Russian transport minister and the vice-premier supervising the transport industry to consider the matter.