Frequent Flight Delays in High Season

The issue that has recently generated the greatest interest of the Russian travel industry is delays of flights of some airlines. Thus, on August 17th a Moscow – Iraklion flight by VIM-avia was delayed for nine hours. Thus, the Head of Fenec Air, Tatiana Firsova, was indignant at the delay: 20 clients of Fenec Air had to spend at the airport half of a day. 200 tourists also suffered owing the delay. ‘Delays – is a life style of VIM-avia. Its flights have been delayed several times for the last several weeks’, said Firsova. It was proved by one more delay – a flight to Antalya - on the same day. Meanwhile, consolidator of the flight, Megapolus Aviacharter, commented as follows: ‘with a big number of flights delays are possible. The flight was delayed owing a technical fault. The airline informed all the passengers and provided them with meals’, said Sergey Azarskov, Executive Director of Megapolus Aviacharter. However, he confirmed that VIM-avia already had such prolonged delays last year. The comments of VIM-avia representatives will be published in the next BANKO news. In high season there are also claims towards other airlines, Atlant-Soyuz, in particular. Thus, Tatiana Egereva from Fiesta, commented: ‘on August 4th our tourists had to wait at the airport had to wait for nine hours. According to them, they flied only after the airplane was sent empty to Antalya and back’. She believes, that such situations might happen owing shortage of aircraft. Unpunctuality of airlines attracted the attention not only of tour operators but of top managers of Rosaviation. Thus, at the press conference held on August 17th by Alexander Yurchik, the Head of the Federal Agency of Air Transport, journalists raised a question on the so called ‘black list’ of airlines - ‘delay leaders’. We remind you that at the beginning of July Rosaviation announced strengthening the control over following the flight schedule by airlines. Rosaviation explained its initiative by the analysis of flight frequency held in May – June 2006. ‘it is not to call the statistics a ‘black list’ – it is a relative rating with absolute not percentage figures. However, we plan to consider this statistics while licensing airlines’.