Boeing 737 to continue operating in Russia — air transport agency

Operations of Boeing 737 aircraft will be continued, Head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Alexander Neradko said Friday. "The meeting attendees were unanimous in saying that currently there are no grounds for decommissioning Boeing 737 aircraft, which are registered in other states in Bermuda, Ireland, and are registered in the public register of aircraft of the Russian Federation. Therefore, operations of Boeing 737 aircraft in Russia will be continued on the same grounds," he said. Neradko said the letter from the Interstate Aviation Committee regarding Boeing 737 was related to Kazan crash though the inquiry into it has not been finished yet. "I’d like to note that those statements [by IAC revocation of certificate airworthiness from Boeing 737 - TASS] are related to investigation into circumstances and reasons of Boeing 737 air crash in Kazan, which happened almost 2 years ago. Up to this moment the investigation has not been finished while Russia’s aviation authorities do not possess an official report and all necessary applications, which the state usually receives. In this situation Russia’s aviation authorities assume the facts of certain questions and technical issues, which obviously arise during investigation, becoming topics of conversation of not technical experts leaking to mass media before the investigation is over, as violation of ethics of inquiry into circumstances and reasons of incidents," he said. Co-owner of S7 air carrier Natalia Fileva said on Friday the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) has recalled its letter on suspension of certificates on Boeing 737 in Russia and has prepared a new one. "IAC has recalled the letter submitting another one instead. No one has seen it. It just arrived," she said. Boeing satisfied with results of meeting in Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency President of Boeing in Russia and CIS Sergey Kravchenko said the company is satisfied with the results of the meeting at Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency. "It was a very positive meeting. Both Valery Okulov [Deputy Transport Minister - TASS] and Alexander Neradko [head of Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency] held the meeting very positively and professionally," Kravchenko said, adding that "Boeing 737 is now one of the safest aircrafts in the history of civil aviation." "I’m satisfied with the results of the meeting. I think that what just happened here demonstrates high professionalism of Russian aviation authorities and the Transport Ministry," he said. As was reported on November 5, the Interstate Aviation Committee suspended the certificate for all Boeing-737 aircraft in Russia until receiving a joint notice of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency and the US Federal Aviation Administration on the aircraft airworthiness. Meanwhile, the agency reported on the same day that the IAC cannot suspend exploitation of Boeing 737 by Russian airlines as only a specifically empowered federal executive authority can introduce the prohibition on flights of a certain aircraft type. Federal Air Transport Agency held a meeting on Friday, attended by Russian aviation authorities, representatives of airlines, the IAC and the US company Boeing, which focused on Boeing-737 aircraft operating prospects.