Due to the large number of questions received by the ATOR Legal Service regarding today's difficult situation from charter transportation"VIM-Avia", here are the answers to the most relevant of them.

First of all, we ask you to remain calm and find the strength within yourself to constructively resolve the current situation. Changing vacation plans is always unpleasant, but there are no unsolvable situations.

THE AIRLINE IS CLOSED AND NO ONE WILL FLY ANYWHERE NOW?

Nothing like that happens. VIM-Avia officially issued a statement that in order to stabilize its schedule,. The changes will affect the period from June 1 to June 15, 2017. In the future, the company plans to carry out its activities according to the plan. You can read more about the VIM-Avia statement.

WE BOUGHT A TOUR INCLUDING VIM-AVIA CARRIAGE. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?

If you purchased a tourist product with VIM-Avia tickets at a travel agency or from a tour operator and your flight should take place between June 1 and 15, 2017, then, first of all, there is no need to panic. For, as well as for you, but all companies, to replace the transportation of "VIM-Avia" with flights of other airlines.

Any changes to the tour will be communicated to the travel agency immediately, so you should keep in touch with your agent. Please be patient and, if your departure is scheduled for a later date, do not demand immediate answers to your questions, give the companies the opportunity to calmly find a replacement for the canceled VIM-Avia flight.

I HAVE A TOUR WITH CHARTER FLIGHT "VIM-AVIA", DEPARTURE - TOMORROW. WHERE SHOULD I APPLY?

Contact your travel agent, he will have all the operational information from the tour operator. You can also find up-to-date information on the nearest departures on the websites of tour operators. If the tour operator is unable to find you an alternative transportation in this short period of time, you can purchase a ticket on your own and, after your vacation, start refunding funds for the canceled flight by contacting VIM-Avia.

IMPORTANT! Be sure to notify the agent (tour operator) of your own decisions to make sure that ground handling (hotel accommodation) will be saved for you. Discuss how you will get from the airport to the hotel, whether the group transfer will continue for you or whether alternative options will be offered to you.

I ONLY HAVE A VIM-AVIA CHARTER FLIGHT TICKET, I AM A INDEPENDENT TRAVELER, HOW SHOULD I BE?

You will also be transferred to another flight. But if you purchased a ticket through an agency for booking and selling air tickets, you will have to keep in touch with them, because the tour operator definitely does not have your contacts, you did not provide them. Therefore, you should contact the company from which you purchased the ticket and agree to inform you about flight changes.

MY FAMILY AND I DID NOT LEFT TODAY FOR VACATION. AT THE AIRPORT WE WERE STAMPED ON THE TICKET "FLIGHT CANCELLED". WHAT TO DO WITH IT?

If your ticket was purchased as part of a tour, contact your travel agent, he is your link to the tour operator. Now tour operators are negotiating with the management of VIM-Avia and with other airlines about changing flights.

You may be asked to reschedule your tour dates or offer other departure options so that you can keep at least part of the tour. If this is not possible or you are not satisfied with the replacement, the travel agency will explain to you how you can issue a refund. Please be aware that the tour operator may not be ready to give you an answer immediately after your request, please be understanding.

If you bought only an air ticket at VIM-Avia (at ticket offices), then you should also contact the place where you bought the ticket for a refund. The airline will tell you how and what kind of application you should prepare and in what terms it will be considered.

We draw your attention to the fact that the air ticket is your contract with the airline, therefore, regardless of the place and purpose of the purchase (for independent travel or as part of a tourist product), you can directly contact VIM-Avia for a refund. You can submit applications at the same time - at the place of purchase of the ticket or tour and at the airline.

The airline announced a reduction in the charter flight program until June 15. What should tourists who have booked tickets for these dates do?

VIM-Avia reduces charters until June 15. The airline has taken this decision to minimize rolling flight delays due to the late arrival of three aircraft from scheduled repairs, the carrier said.

The problem with flights at VIM-Avia began at the end of May, and both charter flights and regular flights had difficulties: some were canceled, some were delayed for several hours. On June 1, the plane, which was supposed to fly from Ufa to Sochi, was delayed for 15 hours. Departures are also postponed in Magadan. The authorities of the region promised to break off relations with the airline if the situation repeats.

On Thursday, the management of VIM-Avia was summoned to the Federal Air Transport Agency. After the conversation, the department said that the carrier would need a few more days to fully enter the schedule. Oleg Panteleev, head of the analytical service of the Aviaport agency, discusses the possible consequences for the airline:

Oleg Panteleev Head of Analytical Service of Aviaport Agency“Taking into account the rather busy flight schedule that was formed by the carrier, untimely arrival after Maintenance three wide-body sides could not but have a rather dramatic effect on the integrity of the flight program. It is not necessary to say that a two-week break will lead the airline to collapse, at least the amount of lost revenue does not look like an irreparable loss against the background of the company's annual revenue. On the other hand, if such precedents are repeated, then the possible risks for the carrier will increase both from the customers of tourist charter programs and from the aviation authorities, who, to put it mildly, are not happy with the situation if any of the carriers allows long delays flights. We see that in previous years, the Federal Air Transport Agency reacted quite harshly to such precedents, if people were stuck at airports for a day and such failures continued for a long time.

The reason for the problems with the flights was not only the planes that were late from the repair. At the end of May, it was reported that VIM-Avia did not have enough crews: many pilots had run out of sanitary norms by May 20, and they could not fly until the next month.

However, the airline also experienced problems last year, and the Federal Air Transport Agency even warned it about the possibility of limiting the air operator's certificate due to massive flight delays. The head of the Gaudi Tour travel company, Evgeny Potapov, says that he does not cooperate with this carrier:

Evgeny Potapov head of the travel company "Gaudi Tour"“Last year, one of the tour operators had blocks on VIM-Avia, and almost every flight was either delayed or cancelled. There was a scandal, all summer junk. Therefore, this season, although they promised that new planes had arrived, the fleet was replenished, but, as you can see, the same thing. I got back a little with a regular flight. The tourist had a flight to Sochi, and they called a day before, saying that it had been cancelled. They compensated the full cost, nevertheless, there was such a precedent.

The Ministry of Transport will increase the levels of compensation to passengers for flight delays in order to increase the responsibility of airlines in such situations, the head of the ministry, Maxim Sokolov, told RIA Novosti.

On VIM-Avia flights this summer, charters were organized by such large tour operators as Anex Tour, NTK Intourist, Coral Travel, Mouzenidis Travel, TUI and others, Irina Tyurina, spokeswoman for the Russian Union of Travel Industry, told Interfax. Now the problem of the carrier will fall on their shoulders, an adviser to the head told Business FM federal agency tourism Dmitry Gorin:

Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Advisor to the Head of the Federal Tourism Agency“Now the operators have taken on the main burden of resolving the situation. Alas, there are no free planes, and, of course, it will be extremely difficult within two weeks to find a replacement for these flights, which are canceled by VIM-Avia. Now the Federal Air Transport Agency is assisting travel companies in finding possible alternatives, but given the start of the high tourist season this year, the demand for tourist trips grew by 20-30%, alas, this is not so easy to do. Now, there will probably be certain changes in the departure time of flights, the names of airlines, so we recommend that tourists who previously had tickets for VIM-Avia are issued to track the latest information through travel companies. Tourists who are already in the resorts will be transported by the airline. At least this is how the official position of VIM-Avia is reported. And tourists who have not yet flown will now be rebooked on flights of other airlines or will receive a refund in case of impossibility of transportation.”

As the head of the Ministry of Transport said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the department controls the situation with VIM-Avia flight delays and the revocation of the air operator's certificate from the airline for this moment not planned.

VIM-Avia reduces charters until June 15. The airline took this decision to minimize rolling flight delays due to the late arrival of three aircraft from scheduled repairs, the carrier said in a statement.

The problem with flights at VIM-Avia began at the end of May, and both charter flights and regular flights had difficulties: some were canceled, some were delayed for several hours. On June 1, the plane, which was supposed to fly from Ufa to Sochi, was delayed for 15 hours. Departures are also postponed in Magadan. The authorities of the region promised to break off relations with the airline if the situation repeats.

On Thursday, the management of VIM-Avia was summoned to the Federal Air Transport Agency. After the conversation, the department said that the carrier would need a few more days to fully enter the schedule. Oleg Panteleev, head of the analytical service of the Aviaport agency, discusses the possible consequences for the airline:

Oleg Panteleev, Head of the Analytical Service of the Aviaport Agency “Given the rather busy flight schedule that was formed by the carrier, the untimely arrival after maintenance of three wide-body aircraft could not but have a dramatic effect on the integrity of the flight program. It is not necessary to say that a two-week break will lead the airline to collapse, at least the amount of lost revenue does not look like an irreparable loss against the background of the company's annual revenue. On the other hand, if such precedents are repeated, then the possible risks for the carrier will increase both from the customers of tourist charter programs and from the aviation authorities, who, to put it mildly, are not happy with the situation if any of the carriers allows long delays flights. We see that in previous years, the Federal Air Transport Agency reacted quite harshly to such precedents, if people were stuck at airports for a day and such failures continued for a long time.

The reason for the problems with the flights was not only the planes that were late from the repair. At the end of May, it was reported that VIM-Avia did not have enough crews: many pilots had run out of sanitary norms by May 20, and they could not fly until the next month.

However, the airline also experienced problems last year, and the Federal Air Transport Agency even warned it about the possibility of limiting the air operator's certificate due to massive flight delays. The head of the Gaudi Tour travel company, Evgeny Potapov, says that he does not cooperate with this carrier:

Evgeny Potapov, head of the Gaudi Tour travel company “Last year, one of the tour operators had blocks on VIM-Avia, and almost every flight was either delayed or cancelled. There was a scandal, all summer junk. Therefore, this season, although they promised that new planes had arrived, the fleet was replenished, but, as you can see, the same thing. I got back a little with a regular flight. The tourist had a flight to Sochi, and they called a day before, saying that it had been cancelled. They compensated the full cost, nevertheless, there was such a precedent.

On VIM-Avia flights this summer, charters were organized by such large tour operators as Anex Tour, NTK Intourist, Coral Travel, Mouzenidis Travel, TUI and others, spokeswoman for the Russian Union of Travel Industry Irina Tyurina told Interfax. Now the problem of the carrier will fall on their shoulders, Dmitry Gorin, adviser to the head of the Federal Tourism Agency, told Business FM:

Dmitry Gorin Vice-President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Advisor to the Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism “Now the operators have taken on the main burden of resolving the situation. Alas, there are no free planes, and, of course, it will be extremely difficult within two weeks to find a replacement for these flights, which are canceled by VIM-Avia. Now the Federal Air Transport Agency is assisting travel companies in finding possible alternatives, but given the start of the high tourist season this year, the demand for tourist trips has grown by 20-30%, alas, this is not so easy to do. Now, probably, there will be certain changes in the time of departure of flights, the names of airlines, therefore, we recommend that tourists who previously had tickets for VIM-Avia have been issued to track up-to-date information through travel companies. Tourists who are already in the resorts will be transported by the airline. At least this is how the official position of VIM-Avia is reported. And tourists who have not yet flown will now be rebooked on flights of other airlines or will receive a refund in case of impossibility of transportation.”

As the head of the Ministry of Transport said on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, the department controls the situation with delays in VIM-Avia flights and there are no plans to revoke the air operator's certificate from the airline at the moment.

A married couple from Moscow, Ivan Voloshchenko and Ekaterina Demidova, have been unable to fly to Moscow from the Fethiye region in Turkey for almost two days.

They bought a package tour at the NTK Intourist and on September 17 flew with the Yamal airline to the Dalaman airport, and then checked into the Sentido Lykia Resort & Spa hotel.

Ivan and Ekaterina were supposed to fly home on September 25 by VIM-Avia flight 9304 from Dalaman Airport. However, at first the flight was postponed, and now there is no new information about the departure at all. “We do not have enough information, we want to understand what is happening,” says Ekaterina. - Yesterday we packed our things and did not know where we would spend the night until the very evening.

The family waits for news on the territory of their hotel. The cost of accommodation and meals these days was taken over by the travel agency. However, the couple had to move to a house on the outskirts of the hotel. Presumably, it is designed for hotel staff.

“Waiting here, of course, is better than at an airport hotel, but my husband still had to go to work on September 26th. He missed important meetings, and the leadership is dissatisfied, ”complains Ekaterina.

Dmitry Shevchenko, Partner at Zamoskvorechye Law Office

In principle, if a married couple ended up in Turkey on a “voucher”, that is, having bought a tourist product from a tour operator or through its intermediary, then they first of all need to contact the operator or agent.

In this situation, upon returning home, you can file a lawsuit against the air carrier demanding compensation for actual losses incurred, additional costs associated with staying at the resort and, if the spouses decide to buy a ticket back at their own expense, paying for the return flight.

It is clear that, given the scale of the problem, they will not immediately receive money, even after a court decision is made in their favor. However, in the future, with the quite likely bankruptcy of the company, their claims may well be entered by decision of the manager in the register of claims against the carrier. Consequently, it will be possible to fully or partially satisfy their demands only after the completion of bankruptcy proceedings, and if you look at the example of Transaero, this may happen in a year or two. Actually, in this situation, I see no other way out. The carrier has no money, not only ordinary passengers, but also creditors, employees, and airports make demands on it.

Dmitry Khavansky, Skyscanner Development Manager in Russia

How to claim compensation for a canceled or delayed flight

In Russia, according to the 126th article of the Air Code of the Russian Federation, you can file a claim against the carrier within six months from the day the flight was canceled or delayed.

To receive money for rescheduling a flight, you need to attach copies of the following documents to the application addressed to the airline (which must be sent by registered mail to the address of the airline with a detailed list of attachments):

Air tickets with notes from airport employees about a delay or cancellation of a flight. A certificate certified by a representative of the company or airport can also serve as confirmation. If it was not possible to obtain a stamp or certificate, attach copies of tickets and boarding passes;

Checks and receipts proving that you have incurred extra expenses due to the postponement of the flight;

Tickets for events, receipts for payment for excursions, invitations to family holidays, medical certificates, letters - all this, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Art. 13 of the Law of 07.02.1992 N 2300-1, may serve as a basis for compensation for collateral damage and non-pecuniary damage if your trip had a clear purpose - for example, a concert of a rarely performing group, a football match, a friend's wedding or a meeting with a seriously ill relative.

The airline is obliged to make a decision on your claim within 30 days from the date of receipt (clause 1, article 128 of the RF Civil Code).

If the carrier did not satisfy your requirements, you can sue him within three years from the date of delay or cancellation of the flight (clause 1, article 196 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The package of documents in this case looks like this:

Statement of claim;

Copy travel document with a note about the delay in departure or cancellation of the flight;

Hotel bills, meals, phone calls, etc.;

Documents confirming that, through the fault of the airline, you have suffered collateral material or moral damage;

A written claim to the airline with proof of dispatch and, preferably, receipt;

The answer of the representatives of the air carrier (if any).

What is the airline obliged to provide to the passenger free of charge in case of a flight delay?

Section 99 of the Federal Aviation Rules clearly defines how airlines must compensate for the inconvenience caused by a flight postponement.

If your flight is delayed more than 2 hours, you are entitled to 2 phone calls or 2 emails, free drinks, free access to the mother and child room if you are flying with children under 7 years old.

If your flight is delayed more than 4 hours, you must be provided with free hot meals. If the flight is delayed for a long time, you must be fed every 6 hours during the day and every 8 hours at night.

Passengers whose flight is postponed by more than 8 hours during the day or more than 6 hours at night, the airline is obliged to accommodate in a hotel and provide transfer there and back. At the same time, according to the law, you cannot be accommodated in the same room with strangers.

At Russian airline“Vim-Avia” happened on the weekend another failure in the schedule. The company attributes this to a lack of funding. Let's take a look at what's really going on with flights and what travelers who have already bought tickets should do. The airline "VIM-Avia" sold tickets, knowing that it was impossible to fly within the time specified in the tickets.

What happened?

The airline's flights, which were supposed to take off this weekend, are delayed in Domodedovo for an indefinite period. There were massive and long delays in departures in the summer - then the airline said that all this was due to the late arrival of aircraft from maintenance.

Why is it so serious this time?

Now Domodedovo Airport refuses to refuel the airline's aircraft on credit. And due to the scale of the delays, the Ministry of Transport and the Federal Air Transport Agency, as well as the prosecutor's office and the investigation department of the Investigative Committee on transport, intervened in the matter. The carrier turned to the authorities for help, and the ministry, in turn, has already begun to prepare for the possible collapse of the airline.

What should passengers do?

The airline "Vim-Avia" serves primarily charter flights, and it is they who are completely stopped. For regular flights to Far East the state is monitoring, and negotiations are already underway to replace the carrier on these routes.