Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Economics, Rosaviatsiya and power-wielding structures are considering the possibility of making changes in the article 61 of air codes, stipulating the limit of foreign participation in the capital of Russian airlines by 49%. According to the head of transport and communications control bureau of FAS, Dmitriy Rutenberg, this question has been raised by his deputy, Anatoliy Golomolzin, in December 2010. The idea is aimed at bringing the air codes in the compliance with federal law “About procedure of foreign investments in business companies of strategic importance”, which allows the share of foreign investments to be more than 50%.

The Deputy Minister of Transport, Valery Okulov, said that he ‘does not see the reasons for making changes in article 61’. However, the deputy director of State Duma transport committee, Sergey Gavrilov, has noted that the question of changing the air codes is considered in context of Russia’s comprisal in VTO and shadow participation of Turkish tour operators’ capital in charter companies". According to the forecasts of Gavrilov, the proposal of making changes in the air codes will be put under governmental consideration this summer.

The share of foreign capital in Russian airline business is officially low. For example, American investment fund Indigo Partners owns 49% of Avianova, controlled by the structures of Alpha-Bank. In addition, 20% of Sky Express has been controlled by EBRD before the downturn. The negotiations regarding the sale of a large share in Sky Express to the owner of Virgin Group, Richard Branson, have also taken place, but the negotiations have been unsuccessful. According to Sky Express, the reason of disruption of talks is impossibility of buying the controlling block by the foreign investors. A foreign co-founder has owned a share in Region-avia, but the airline has stopped its activities.

In fact, the foreigners have a much larger share. "Since the tour operators acquire the aircraft, register it at the off-shore zone and then hand it over to the airlines, most of the largest charter carriers are partially or entirely controlled by the Turkish capital,— explained the source.— For example, IFly (Тez Tour), Orenburg airlines and NordWind (Pegas touristik )"