Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) has found the way to strengthen the competition at Russian airports and decrease the airlines’ expenses.

Following the creation of autonomous refueling facilities the service proposes to limit the minimum quantity of companies servicing aircraft and passengers on the ground, Kommersant reports.

FAS has submitted the draft decree regarding establishing the procedure for access to the objects of natural monopoly at the airports. The main point of the changes is increasing the number of operators servicing passengers at the airports. Handling companies are usually carrying out check-in procedures, baggage handling, accompany the passengers to the aircraft and manage the work of tow tractors, buses and airstairs at the airfield. The service proposes to enact into law the minimum number of such companies: the airports with passenger traffic of more than 1 million passengers per year will have at least two such companies, the ones with passenger traffic over 5 million passengers per year – at least three. All the airports must provide non-discriminatory access to the ground services.

The aim of these changes is further development of competition in the area of airport services which will help decrease tariffs, expand the activities of low-cost-carriers and increase the traffic. FAS makes the example of European countries, where “the measures aimed at liberalization of ground services decreased its price by 10-20%".

At present Russian airports have only one handling company. At Domodedovo airport, the largest one in Russia, it is one of the airport-based companies. Sheremetyevo has two handling companies – its own and Aeroflot’s one. Only Vnukovo works with eight companies.