MOSCOW, March 13 (Itar-Tass) - In 2012, the air services betwen constituent entities of the Russian Federation (RF), counting out those to Moscow and St Petersburg, carried 4.76 million passengers. Inland airlines carried 33.4 million passengers, or 45.1 percent of all transportation by Russian air companies. Such data issued by the government press service will be presented on Wednesdy at Gorki at a conference on the development of regional passenger transportation by air. The conference will be chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.
Vice-Premier Arkady Dvorkovich, the presidential plenipotentiary representatives in the Volga, North-Western, Siberian, and Ural Federal Districts, as well as the Ministers of Transport, Industry and Trade, and Finance, and representatives of air carriers will participate in the conference.
The governmen press service points out, "With a view to developing passenger regional air transportation, the Transport Ministry, in conjunction with air carriers and other transport organizations, has prepared a Roadmap, which includes 18 arrangements, five of which have been already made, and the rest are in various stages of implementaiton".
The Roadmap provides for purpose-oriented indicators which are intended to ensure an increase in passenger transportation of not less than 34 percent by 2015. Special attention in implementing the project has been devoted to developing a network of regional and local airports of the RF. In particular, for the purpose of maintaining and developing local and regional air tranportation in Far North areas and localities equated to them, the Transport Ministry is working to establish Federal budget-supported enterprises (FBSE) on the basis of airports of local and regional jurisdiction.
Seven FBSE's have been set up on the basis of 61 regional and local airports: the "Airports of the North", "Airports of Chukotka", "Airports of Kamchatka", "Airports of Krasnoyarsk Territory", "Airports of Sakhalin", "Amderma Airport", and "Airports of Amur Area".
Last year, the FBSE's were provided with subsidies from the Federal budget resources amounting to 2,700 million roubles, the press service statement points out.
Work is currently under way to establish FBSE's such as "Kyzyl Airport", "Anadyr Airport" branch as part of the Airports of Chukotka FBSE, Tiksi Airport branch of the Airports of the North, the Airports of Eastern Siberia FBSE, and to set up an amalgamated FBSE "Airports of the Far East".
The Federal budget earmarks budget appropriations amounting to 2,951.5 million roubles in 2013 and 2, 956.5 million and 2,976.5 million roubles for the FBSE's located in Far North areas and territories equated to them in 2014, and 2015, respectively.
Within the scope of 2013 budgeting, the financing of regional and local airports Amderma, Zhigansk, and Naryan Mar was brought forward to upgrade them The survey work period has been brough forward from 2015 to 2013, the document points out.
The Federal targeted investment programme envisages 2013 financing of the upgrading (ccnstruction) of airfield complexes of regional and local airports, such as Iturup, Goryachinsk, Chokurdakh, Palana, Nikolskoye, and Nikolayevsk-in-Amur.
The commercial fleet of Russian air companies is now represented by 294 regional airliners, the share of foreign-made planes in which exceeds 30 percent. The goverment forecasts a mounting demand for regional airliners simultaneously with the development of a network of inland, regional and local transportation by 2030 up to 460-500 air vehicles.
As of March 1, 2013, Rosaviatsia decided to grant subsidies amounting to 1,200 million roubles for the delivery of 26 airliners. In 2013, it is planned to grant subsidies for the supply of up to 40 airliners, the press service report points out.