GURZUF, June 13. /ITAR-TASS/. Russia will offer chartered flights to take children from Russian regions to Crimean health centers and camps for summer holidays, Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Olga Golodets told journalists on Friday.
“We have agreed with airline companies and governors to make children’s transportation as comfortable as possible,” she said. “Four direct chartered flights will be organized from all regions.”
The minister said it was important to organize chartered flights for children’s safety and health.
“It is very difficult, for instance, to transport children from (Russia's far eastern) Yakutia region by train,” she said. “We should be realistic. The major part of our regions is quite remote from Crimea. That is why almost all regions - nearly 85% - count on chartered air transportation.”
The government has allocated about two billion rubles ($58 million) to cover expenses for children’s vacations in Crimea.
“Some regions have expressed concern over transport availability,” Golodets said. “We have allocated money from the budget to make it possible for them to send children over to Crimea."