Boris Boozinnik
Prorector of Civil
Aviation Academy

         Deserted settlements. Closed mines and procession plants. People can not find jobs in the North, and don't have a chance to move to another place.
        Transportation in the North is in a difficult situation also. Only Barents-and-Baltic region (Leningrad, Murmansk, Arkhangelsk regions, and Karelia) of all spacious Northern regions have all types of transportation: trains, automobiles, sea and river transport, and aviation. In some regions aviation is the only type of transportation and stopping its activity means, in fact, breaking territorial integrity of Russia.
        Ground base of aviation in Northern regions was created and reconstructed for several decades. Airports in Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Amderm, Salekhard, Tiksi, Pevek, Chersky, Chokurdakh, Anadyr, Norilsk, Magadan, Yakutsk have been built, equipped and are currently in operation. They can work with TU-154, and some of them are in reserve for IL-62. These airports are suitable for usage, and they can not be allowed to lose their suitability.
        The main reason of the crisis of aviation in the Arctic and the North is difficult economic situation in the country. But the problem is also caused by the disunity of the aviation. That is true that "Too many cooks spoil the broth". Aviation of the Arctic and the North reports to several regional directions: Northwest, Arkhangelsk, Komi, West Siberian, Krasnoyarsk, Yakutsk, and Magadan. Is not that the reason why polar aviation is the most economically unprofitable one and most difficult to operate including the flight safety?
         The specialists of our Academy see the solution of the problem, first of all, as reconstruction of the united leading body for polar aviation. Based on comparative analysis of existing air transportation system of the Barents region of Russia (Karelia, Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions) and foreign aviation companies, especially Scandinavian ones, strategic planning of organization of this region's air transportation system has been suggested. It provides effective functioning of air transportation system of the Arctic and the North under conditions of market economy, taking into consideration the specific character of the privatization of aviation companies in Russia.
        We beleive that the most reasonable way is to create Polar Aviation state company with joint capital and state owned block of shares. Transfer of all aircrafts, aviation companies, airports, aviation-technical bases of Northern territorial departments to Polar Aviation will allow to concentrate our efforts, experience and responsibility for the Northern air transportation in one company. The capital of large companies, such as Gasprom, Lucoil, Norilsk Nickel, metallurgic plants and other large companies and organizations of the North should be attracted.
         Airplanes/helicopters stock should be concentrated in aviation companies of Polar Aviation joint stock company. It includes AN-24, IL-18, AN-26, AN-30, AN-70, AN-72, AN-10, AN-12, for they are most suitable for the North. In our opinion, it is reasonable to begin again the small-scale production of the most acceptable for the North aircraft IL-14 with the wheel and ski undercarriage (similar to production of SI-130 "Hercules" aircrafts in USA for Arctic and Antarctic), hydroairplanes and dirigibles. They can be irreplaceable and economically profitable for the unloading of sea transportat, transportation of large-size cargo for miners, oil industry workers, geologists, gas workers (if helicopters can carry up to 25 tons, dirigibles can carry up to 50 or even 100 tons).
        Of course, marketing of all possible customers of air transportation should be carried out, the needs not only of the Northern Sea Route, but Russian companies and enterprises should be considered. Many problems should be solved, for example, the changing of large airports of the North to transit ones (reserved for fuelling) for aircrafts on flight through North Pole from Canada and USA, and from Europe - to the Asian-and-Pacific region.
        Forming of the market of air transportation and market infrastructure, demonopolization of the system of air transportation, elimination of organisation structures of administrative-command system that create obstacles to market economy - all this is impossible without the participation of administration of Northern subjects of the Russian Federation. Civil Aviation Academy is ready to carry out all the amount of research works connected with the foundation of Polar Aviation Russian joint stock company. It is clear that to solve transportation problems of Russia and, first of all, North, we will train and retrain aviation personnel.
        The important fact is the place of location of leading body of Polar Aviation. I am sure that Polar Aviation should be located in St. Petersburg - northern capital of Russia.