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Pres admitted that government control over passenger transportation is ineffective

He ordered the Cabinet to shut down all unsafe airlines by mid-November, toughen the checks and increase the fines

MOSCOW, September 12 (Itar-Tass) — President Dmitry Medvedev actually admitted that government control over passenger transportation in Russia is absolutely ineffective. After the Sunday conference over the investigation into the cause of the Yak-42 plane crash in the Yaroslavl region, he ordered the Cabinet to shut down all unsafe airlines by mid-November, toughen the checks and increase the fines. The Transport Ministry said five or seven large airlines can ensure reliable and stable operation in passenger transportation. Experts believe this decision might cause serious damage to the whole aviation industry.

Another task for the Cabinet is to take urgent measures to subsidize civil aircraft lease in accordance with the safety requirements, as well as local and regional transportation, the "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" writes. The president instructed the Ministries of Transport and Industry to equip the civil planes with warning systems and emergency beacons. A revision of state supervision norms tops the list of the president-proposed measures. This fact shows that there had actually been no effective supervision in civil aviation before the landmark crash, the newspaper notes.

The specialists the newspaper had polled said the campaign of checks, fines and liquidation of airlines which Russia had begun was a mistake. Instead of the one-time wave of checks, they suggested building a carrier-friendly control and accident-prevention system.

"The system of control in civil aviation should not function towards banning, punishing or fining. Inspectors must help the carriers to enhance reliability and offer recommendations and advice. "If the industry maintains a high culture, the reliability of transportation by air is ensured both by large and small companies," president of the Riga air navigation institute Ivan Kuznetsov said.