SHANGHAI, June 19./ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Transport Ministry plans to extend a helping hand to the low cost airline market by issuing corresponding rules and regulations, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said on Thursday.
“We plan to significantly expand the so-called low cost airline market. We have created all necessary rules and regulations. But there are several laws that need to be approved, for instance, on baggage allowance,” Sokolov said.
Sokolov said he had discussed the issue with the members of the State Duma, its factions and the transport committee, and he hopes that the Duma will approve the draft during its next session.
Although the number of domestic flights decreased in the last 20 years, this year the country’s airline market will grow faster than the global marker, he added.
In April, President Vladimir Putin signed into law regulations that eased conditions for establishing and operating low cost airlines.
In May, Russia’s national flagship carrier Aeroflot’s low cost branch Dobrolyot started its flights to Crimea, and the company plans to launch more than 10 domestic routes in 2014.