Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, on a working trip to Astrakhan, had a meeting with the Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin
Vladimir Putin: Did you get the air fuel from Rosrezerv (the Federal Agency for State Reserves) to address the problem of carrying the passengers who have been stranded for a week or more at some airports?
Igor Levitin: Yes, on your instructions, aviation fuel has been made available from Rosrezerv. We provided the hub airports of Domodedovo and Krasnoyarsk as a matter of priority because the largest number of flights operate from there. It enabled the (AirUnion) Alliance to resume flights. But the air company is still not operating the summer schedule.
Vladimir Putin: How much time will it take before people stop suffering? They sit there for days with their children.
Igor Levitin: We need about a week to resume regular flights.
Vladimir Putin: What has happened to the company? Why such an interruption?
Igor Levitin: The board of directors which is currently in session will review the company's financial status in terms of the credit policy, management and work in the air carriage market as well as the price of tickets. But in general the situation in the company is directly linked with the rise of fuel.
Vladimir Putin: The cost of fuel, you mean?
Igor Levitin: Yes, the cost of fuel. The company operated on the socially sensitive routes, to Siberia and the Far East. We are monitoring the situation in other air companies to prevent the predicament being repeated in other companies.
Vladimir Putin: But if the company had approached the Government, your ministry, for example, in due time measures could have been taken in advance. Why did they have to wait until the situation became critical?
Igor Levitin: Yes, I also believe that this situation could have been addressed at an earlier stage and prevented.
Vladimir Putin: What do you think should be done for the company to work in a stable and regular manner without creating such problems for people?
Igor Levitin: We had an operational meeting with Sergei Ivanov yesterday to consider various options for the company and the network of routes that is vital for us because these are socially significant routes. Our main task is to continue serving these routes because the people living along these routes have no other available transportation except air transport.
We have worked out an Action Plan, we have appointed the executors in order to stabilize this network, restore regular flights and improve the situation in the company. It has a staff of over 7000 people and we need to preserve the network of routes - especially Siberia and the Far East. If you approve our Action Plan we will start working on it immediately, from today.
Vladimir Putin: Does the Action Plan envisage new shareholders?
Igor Levitin: Yes, introduction of new shareholders is part of the plan.
Vladimir Putin: All right, let us see.
