MOSCOW, November 3. /TASS/. The Communist party faction in the State Duma led by Valery Rashkin has submitted a draft law to the lower house of parliament on allowing Russian representatives to assist in ensuring security at foreign airports, including by guarding and inspecting planes and escorting aircraft. The Communist party earlier proposed to make relevant agreements with the countries where a threat of terrorist attacks exists.
The authors of the draft law explain in their explanatory note that amendments were prepared after the Kogalymavia Flight 9268 crash in Egypt on October 31. "Regardless of what will be the results of the investigation of this tragedy… it is necessary to strengthen air security measures," parliamentarians stress.
If the draft law passes, Russian security services will be allowed to directly take part in guarding aircraft at parking positions "with the aim of preventing unauthorized persons from entering" and securing "the impossibility of illegal transport of weapons, ammunition, explosives… and other hazardous materials", as well as participating in the pre-flight checks.
Russian Kogalymavia’s A321 plane en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31 around 30 minutes after takeoff in North Sinai, 100 kilometers to the south of Al-Arish. Flight 9268 carried 217 passengers and seven crewmembers. Egyptian authorities said no one survived in the crash. Most passengers were Russian nationals. Among the people onboard were also four Ukrainian citizens and one Belarusian national.