Contribution of general aviation to ensuring transport accessibility to the Arctic regions: the challenges and areas of focus

The article defines the dominant position of general aviation to ensure passenger transportation, to render the sanitary aviation and the Ministry of Emergencies services, taking into consideration the natural and climatic conditions of the Russian Federation Eastern Arctic. It analyzes the current state of the transport system of this territory, which is characterized by the railway communication lack, available roads for only seasonal purpose – winter roads, and the key role of water transport in the organization of freight transport based on the complex long-term (more than one year) multimodal delivery schemes, extremely high cost of regional and local air transportation. The purpose of the study is to analyze the state of the general aviation system in the Eastern Arctic of Russia and identify the factors, constraining its development, and to formulate proposals for their elimination. The article examines the state of the operating airport network, route network and operators’ fleet of aircraft – in service which render services to these territories. The limited airport network does not provide aviation accessibility to each settlement of the Arctic zone and causes transport discrimination. The lack of scheduled flights in local communication leads to increased waiting time for transportation and reduces demand. The outdated general aviation fleet with low economic efficiency is outcompeted by the helicopter service. The cost of a helicopter flight hour in the Arctic is 500–650 thousand rubles. The article considers the legal restrictions, that are associated with overstated requirements for companies and aviation enterprises serving the general aviation activities and hinder the development of local air transportation in the Arctic zone. Based on the analysis of foreign experience, the areas of focus to improve the Russian legislation, regulating the general aviation activities, which will allow us to reduce the costs to maintain the airport network, thereby stimulating its expansion for the purpose of increasing the level of transport accessibility to remote settlements of the Arctic zone, are proposed. The proposed measures to improve the air transport system in the Arctic zone are aimed to achieve the formulated targets.

1. Kiselenko, A.N. (2014). On development of the transport system of the European North of Russia. Regional Economics: Theory and Practice, no. 11 (338), pp. 2–11. (in Russian)

2. Kisilenko, A.N., Malashchuk, P.A. & Fomina, I.V. (2019). Studying the transport accessibility of the European and Cis-Ural regions in the North of Russia based on a modified Engel’s coefficient. Regional Economics: Theory and Practice, vol. 17, no. 9 (468), pp. 1668–1680. DOI: 10.24891/re.17.9.1668 (in Russian)

3. Kiselenko, A.N., Malashchuk, P.A., Sundukov, E.Yu. & Fomina, I.V. (2019). Forecasts of development of transport approaches to the west part of Arctic transport system. The North and the Market: Forming the Economic Order, no. 3 (65), pp. 63–73. DOI: 10.25702/KSC.2220-802X.2019.65.3.63-73 (in Russian)

4. Karpechko, V.A., Litvinenko, A.V., Bogdanova, M.S. & Filatov, N.N. (2017). Water transport and energetic of north European part of Russia (a review). Arctic: Ecology and Economy, no. 1 (25), pp. 75–85. DOI: 10.25283/2223-4594-2017-1-75-85

5. Zolotokrylin, A.N. at al. (2018). Natural and climatic conditions and sociogeographical space of Russia, in Zolotokrylin A.N., Vinogradova V.V., Glaser O.B. (Ed.). Moscow: Institut geografii RAN, 154 p. DOI: 10.15356/ncsgsrus (in Russian)

6. Neretin, A.S., Zotova M.V., Lomakina A.I. & Tarkhov, S.A. (2019). Transport connection and development of the eastern regions of Russia. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi akademii nauk. Seriya geograficheskaya, vol. 6, pp. 35–52. DOI: 10.31857/S2587-55662019635-52 (in Russian)

7. Tatarkin, A.I., Loginov, V.G. & Zakharchuk E.A. (2017). Socioeconomic problems in development of the Russian Arctic zone. Herald of the Russian Academy of Sciences, vol. 87 (1), pp. 12–21. DOI: 10.1134/S101933161701004X

8. Ayele, Y.Z., Barabadi, A. & Barabady, J. (2016). Dynamic spare parts transportation model for Arctic production facility. International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, vol. 7 (1), pp. 84–98. DOI: 10.1007/s13198-015-0379-x

9. Baker, D., Merkert, R. & Kamruzzaman, M. (2015). Regional aviation and economic growth: cointegration and causality analysis in Australia. Journal of Transport Geography, vol. 43, pp. 140–150. DOI: 10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2015.02.001

10. Button, K.J., Doh, S. & Yuan, J. (2010). The role of small airports in economic development. Journal of airport management, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 125–136.

11. Fauzer, V.V. (2014). Demographic potential of the Russia’s northern regions as a factor and condition of economic development of the Arctic. Economy of Region, no. 4 (40), pp. 69–81. DOI: 10.17059/2014-4-5 (in Russian)

12. Fiser, A. (2015). Report on Infrastructure for Development in Canada’s North. Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Canadian High Arctic Research Station. The Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa, 79 p.

13. Fiser, A. & Fournier, S. (2014). Study on Addressing the Infrastructure Needs of Northern Aboriginal Communities. The Conference Board of Canada, Ottawa, 94 p.

14. Widener, M.J., Saxe, S. & Galloway, T. (2017) The relationship between airport infrastructure and flight arrivals in remote northern Canadian communities. Arctic, vol. 70, no. 3, pp. 249–258. DOI: 10.14430/arctic4663

15. Poleshkina, I.O. & Gorbunov, V.P. (2021). Development of the air transport network in the Arctic zone of Eastern Siberia. Transportation Research Procedia, vol. 57, pp. 443–451. DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2021.09.071

16. Sobolev, L.B. (2016). A high mission of general aviation. Economic Analysis: Theory and Practice, no. 3 (450), pp. 4–16. (in Russian)

17. Darbasov, V.R., Okhlopkov, M.N. & Fedorova, E.Yа. (2021). Analysis and evaluation of the food market of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Regional Economics: Theory and Practice, vol. 19, no. 4 (487), pp. 755–777. DOI: 10.24891/re.19.4.755 (in Russian)

18. Melnik, G. (2021). Private pilots were allowed to carry cargo and shoot wolves. Parliament newspaper. Available at: https://www.pnp.ru/economics/pilotamchastnikam-razreshili-vozit-gruzy-i-otstrelivatvolkov.html (accessed: 16.01.2021). (in Russian)

19. Prosvirina, N.V. (2020). Analysis of small aviation problems in Russia and possible ways of their solution. Natural humanitarian studies, no. 28 (2), pp. 232–238. DOI: 10.24411/2309-4788-2020-10107 (in Russian)

20. Holdin, R.S. & Farafontova, E.L. (2010). Great legal problems of Russian general aviation. Aktualnyye problemy aviatsii i kosmonavtiki, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 350–352. (in Russian)

21. Turov, N.A. (2017). Prospects for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in civil aviation. Transport business of Russia, no. 1, pp. 100–105. (in Russian)

22. Dikan, N.S. & Tumanik, G.N. (2020). Public status of small aviation in the system of current Novosibirsk agglomeration. Tvorchestvo i sovremennost, no. 1 (12), pp. 163–170. (in Russian)

23. Gorbunov, V., Kuznetcov, S., Savvina, A. & Poleshkina, I. (2021). Methodological aspects of avionics reliability at low temperatures during aircraft operation in the Far North and the Arctic. Transportation Research Procedia, vol. 57, pp. 220–229. DOI: 10.1016/j.trpro.2021.09.045

24. Biryukova, P.A. (2018). Problems and limitations of government regulation by the example of the general aviation in Russia. Business. Society. Power, no. 1 (27), pp. 179–196. (in Russian)

25. Lukyanova, A. & Kuzmina, V. (2021). The Ministry of Transport wants to simplify the requirements for general aviation. Vedomosti. Available at: https://www.vedomosti.ru/business/articles/2021/05/12/869467-uprostit-aviatsii (accessed: 10.01.2022). (in Russian)

26. Große, C. (2019). Airports as critical infrastructure: The role of the transportation-by-air system for regional development and crisis management. 2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), Macao, China, pp. 440–444. DOI: 10.1109/IEEM44572.2019.8978905

27. Biosca, O., Spiekermann, K. & Stępniak, M. (2013). Transport accessibility at regional scale. Europa XXI, vol. 24, pp. 5–17. DOI:10.7163/Eu21.2013.24.1

28. Volosov, E.N. (2016). Regional aviation on Siberia and Far East: challenges and opportunities. Issues of Social-Economic Development of Siberia, no. 4 (26), pp. 60–68. (in Russian)

29. Lavrinenko, P.A., Romashina, A.A., Stepanov, P.S. & Chistyakov, P.A. (2019). Transport accessibility as an indicator of regional development. Studies on Russian Economic Development, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 694–701. DOI: 10.1134/S1075700719060091