A seminar on small aircraft aviation in the Arctic was held\nin Moscow within the framework of the action plan of Russia\u2019s Chairmanship of\nthe Arctic Council, the operator being the Roscongress Foundation.\nRepresentatives from transportation agencies and organizations of the Arctic\nstates and Indigenous peoples of the Arctic attended the seminar. The Chair of\nthe Sustainable Development Working Group provided welcoming remarks. The\nMinistry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Federal Air Transport\nAgency (Rosaviatsia) were the official organizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The participants considered such topics as improving the\nroute network in the Arctic region, development of air transportation, the\nintroduction of unmanned aircraft and coordination in the field of search and\nrescue between the Arctic countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The seminar noted the need to strengthen cooperation between\nthe Arctic states on infrastructure development in the region, including the\ndevelopment of the route network to ensure transport accessibility of Arctic\nresidents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDue to the lack of alternative modes of transport in the\nArctic, transporting people and delivering goods is impossible without\naviation. The insufficiently developed airfield network of the Arctic region\ndictates the need to develop small aircraft aviation, including unmanned\naircrafts that can carry out transportation with small landing grounds and\nunpaved runways,\u201d stressed Igor Chalik, Deputy Minister of Transport of the\nRussian Federation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artur Chilingarov, a special envoy of the President of the\nRussian Federation for International Cooperation in the Arctic and Antarctic,\nnoted in his greeting that small aircrafts in the Arctic both deliver people\nand cargo to remote areas and carry out scientific research and implementation\nof international scientific projects, as well as search and rescue operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ministry for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic,\ntogether with the Ministry of Transport of Russia and the Federal Air Transport\nAgency, are working to improve aviation accessibility of the Arctic territories\nand modernize the airport infrastructure. Today, there are at least 39 airports\nin the Arctic zone of Russia, ten of which will be modernized by 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The participants also discussed the prospects for developing\nthe air navigation services and route network in the Arctic zone. Amendments to\nthe federal aviation regulations are currently being prepared and will allow\nthe use of remote video surveillance for air traffic control. The technology\nwill be especially relevant for remote airports of the Far North. In\nparticular, such equipment is supposed to be installed in\nPetropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Yakutsk and Magan airports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The seminar also considered the technologies for building\nrunways in the Arctic regions of Russia and Canada, the experience of operating\naviation equipment, the specific features of pilot training for the Arctic\nzone, the prospects of using helicopter technology, and the plans of Russian\nPost JSC for unmanned cargo delivery. A separate discussion was held on the\ndevelopment of tourist routes in the region to increase the flow of tourists\nbetween the Arctic states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n