OREANDA-NEWS  Belarus and Russia are considering the introduction of "flat" air fares, independent of the date and season, the republic's ambassador to the Russian Federation Dmitry Krutoy told reporters on Thursday.

"The issue of introducing "flat" tariffs for air travel between the cities of Belarus and Russia, following the example of aviation communication between Moscow and the cities of the Far East, is being considered, it was outlined at a meeting of the High-level Group of the Council of Ministers of the Union State in Smolensk," the diplomat said, quoted by the state publication SB. Belarus Today.

He noted that now the experience of implementing such tariffs for air travel is being studied, and "the scheme may well be introduced, for example, for flights between Moscow and Minsk."

"I think this will not be a quick solution, because in any case, the element of subsidizing such flights will be present, and until we make bilateral supranational legislation," he added.

Belarus is ready to take part in such a project, Krutoy noted. He cited the example of the Minsk City Executive Committee, which is ready to subsidize air routes at its own expense. "Minsk is ready to use funds from the city budget to subsidize such flights to its twin cities, Ulyanovsk and Murmansk, but there is simply no relevant legislation. Our task is to make it by the 25th anniversary of the Union treaty, by December," the diplomat said.

The "flat fares" program was launched in 2015 and is being implemented by the Russian company Aeroflot on flights to the cities of the Far East and Kaliningrad. It assumes fixed prices for economy class flights throughout the year, regardless of the date and season.