Meeting of the State Duma Committee for Transport and Construction

A meeting of the State Duma Committee for Transport and Construction with participation of the State Duma deputies, representatives of tourism industry and airlines was held on October 4. One of the representatives of the tourism industry was Dmitry Gorin, CEO of Vipservice Holding, Advisor to the Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation.

Under the leadership of Evgeny Moskvichev, Head of the Committee, the participants discussed the situation around the VIM-Avia airline and issues related to the preparation of a list of legislative initiatives, that will allow to create a monitoring system and prevent further re-occurrence of such situations on the air market. 

Maxim Sokolov, Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, in his report outlined a road map, developed by the Ministry of Transport, on a set of measures aimed at increasing the responsibility of airlines and tour operators to citizens of the country. First of all, it is about preventative, i.e. proactive measures. These are measures centered around tightening control over financial and economic condition of airlines. 

During the meeting, it was suggested to make changes into the admissions to international flights, increase the compensation of passengers in case of delays. The acute need for the control over legislation in the tourism industry, including the strict liability of tour operators for selling air tickets without a return ticket were especially noted at the meeting. 

In addition, it was proposed to authorize the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation to control the on-line sale of vouchers and the need for mandatory introduction of an electronic voucher as a strict reporting form. It is reasonable to introduce responsibility for violation of the law "About bases of tourist activities in the Russian Federation". It is about introduction of sanctions and mechanisms of strict control over violation of legislation by tour operators. According to the Minister of Transport, the control will be carried out through electronic vouchers allowing for tracking of the transportation documentation availability. Namely, the purchase of a round-trip ticket and the handover of this ticket to a tourist together with a voucher, as stated in the relevant article of the law on tourist activity, including a penalty system for flight violations or even revocation of a license and expulsion from the register of tour operators. 

The liability of airport operators or contractor organization for serving passengers in case of flight delay shall be introduced. Finally, it is necessary to create an association of airlines in order to finance the cost for helping passengers, and to prevent disruptions in passenger transportation and protect their rights.

"We have our proposals ready, we would like to ask the State Duma and expert community to promptly submit relevant conclusions to these proposals," concluded Maksim Sokolov, the Minister of Transport.