Air traffic between Russiaand Tajikistan may be suspended on November 8, 2016.
Next week Russia may unilaterally terminate air services with Tajikistan. As reported by Kommersant, this is due to reluctance of official Dushanbe, Tajikistan, to agree Russian airlines’ flights into the country from the airport in Zhukovsky.
Tajikistan believes that the airport belongs to Moscow and for the admission of flights to Dushanbe one needs to review the intergovernmental Agreement. But now only Tajik airlines are operating on the airline, so the Russian side says about the infringement of the rights of domestic players.
Air traffic between Russiaand Tajikistan may be suspended on November 8, 2016, sources in the industry told “Kommersant”, and this was confirmed by the Russia’s Ministry of Transport. Such a decision would be a response to the refusal of Tajik authorities to agree on the appointment of Russian airlines to operate flights from the new airport in Zhukovsky, said one of the “Kommersant” interviewees. According to the Tajik side, he says, the Zhukovsky airport has become the fourth full-featured airport of the Moscowaviation hub, so the additional appointment of airlines for flights to Tajikistan’s Dushanbe and Khujand is a unilateral increase in the number of Russian air carriers and flight frequencies on these airlines. On this basis, the Tajik authorities have refused to accept the appointment of the Russian air carrier.
The airport in Zhukovsky has started its operations since late May 2016, it is developed by such companies, as Ramport Aero (a joint venture structure of Rostec (25%)) and the Lithuanian holding company Avia Solutions Group (75% minus one share). In August, the Federal Air Transport Agency has issued approvals for international flights from the Zhukovsky for Ural airlines, VIM-Avia and Yamal. Ural Airlines received appointments to fly to Tajikistan’s Dushanbe and Khujand, as the Russian Foreign Ministry informed the Embassy of Tajikistan in late August.
The Press Service of the Russia’s Ministry of Transport explained to “Kommersant” that, according to the Government’s decree, Moscow“owns” such international airports of the federal significance, as Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Sheremetievo but the international airport in Zhukovsky is referred to Ramenskoe. Therefore, “the Tajikistan’s attempt to determine the status of the Russian airport violates the sovereignty of the Russian authorities in their territory”, and their refusal to accept the appointment of the Russian air carrier to operate flights from Zhukovsky “is a direct violation” of the intergovernmental Air Service Agreement.
The Ministry of Transport stressed that the aeronautical authorities of Tajikistan should take into account that the main passengers on these air routes include “Tajik labour migrants who provide up to 48% of the Tajikistan’s GDP through the Russian Federation”. If the position of the Tajik authorities does not change, the suspension of air traffic by the Russian Federation will enter into force in order to “prevent the infringement of the rights” of the Russian airlines, the Ministry of Transport told “Kommersant”.
According to “Kommersant”, the cost of flights on the Moscow– Dushanbe air route, operating by only Tajik air companies, namely Somon Air and Tajik Air, has increased by 32%, as compared to 2015. At the end of November, the minimum price for a direct roundtrip flight is RUR 28,000. Seat load capacity on this route has increased by 8%, and the total volume of passenger traffic – by 41%. S7 Airlines and Ural Airlines, Russia, currently fly from Moscow to other cities of Tajikistan, namely to Kulyab and Khujand. “Kommersant” applied with its requests to Ural Airlines, the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan, Somon Air and Tajik Air but no any replies have been received so far.
This is not the first conflict with the leadership of Russian aviation authorities and the CIS countries this year. In March 2016, official Moscow has refused to allow the Kazakhstan’s Air Astana to fly to Ulan Bator, Mongolia, through the Trans-Siberian air route for free, referring to the fact that foreign companies should pay royalties to Russiafor flying over Siberia. In response, the Kazakh authorities threatened to stop the Aeroflot’s flights to Kazakhstan(“Kommersant” wrote about this on March 25, 2016). Bilateral negotiations have not yielded results. And, according to "Kommersant", the Moscow’s plans to liberalize air services and to enter the “open sky” mode inside the Eurasian Economic Community, starting with Kazakhstan, did not find any support from local authorities.
The professor Boris Eliseev, civil aviation expert, Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, believes that, taking into account non-comparable number of air carriers in Russia and the CIS, “the conflict is inevitable in such matters”. It is too difficult for the CIS countries to soften the negotiating position, because the parties will seek to restrict competition, thus defending the interests of national air carriers. A compromise approach would be to develop airport infrastructure, the expert said.
