Airports complained about a problem with the registration of special equipment

The International Association of Airports sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Transport, in which it expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that its specialized equipment, such as low-floor apron buses, self-propelled passenger ladders, de-icing machines, self-propelled transporters and others, cannot be registered and operated legally. Kommersant writes about this.

This situation poses a threat to the normal functioning of airports. Specialized equipment must have "passports of self-propelled vehicles and other types of equipment", which are issued by the Eurasian Economic Commission. Without these passports, the equipment cannot be registered with Gostechnadzor and issued a license plate, and the operation of such equipment is prohibited by the law "On Transport Security". However, after switching to electronic passports of vehicles (EPTS) and self-propelled vehicles (EPSM) from November 1, 2022, the rules of state registration do not apply to special equipment at airports.

The IAA asked to amend the law to include a list of airport special equipment, and to extend the current procedure for issuing passports to it. The importing company reported that it could not transfer part of the equipment to customers without passports, but for a number of regional airports this issue is not fundamental, since the supervisory authorities turn a blind eye to the registration of equipment if it does not leave the airfield.

Airports are afraid of growing problems in connection with passenger traffic in the summer. In the case of using unofficial vehicles, companies may be fined. But even when registering special equipment, such as self-propelled air-starting engines, special lifts for passengers with limited mobility and tractors for towing aircraft, the presence of numbers on them is still required. One of the sources of the publication believes that it is easier to close the air harbor than to pay fines for each case of violation.

Viktor Gorbachev, CEO of the Airport Association, suggests returning to the norms that were in force before the decisions of the Eurasian Economic Commission were made. Airports and lessors independently take care of accounting, insurance and the general condition of their special equipment, and the requirement to have numbers on them is excessive.

Meanwhile, the air carriers, almost forced out of the international flights market and forced to solve problems with the re-registration of Boeing and Airbus, are counting on the prolongation of state subsidies this year.