Planes that do not meet the world's aviation safety requirements will be banned from flights from 2012, the head of the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia), Alexander Neradko said on Saturday.
In 2009 Rosaviatsia issued an order stipulating that all the passenger planes should be equipped with the Traffic Collision Avoidance System as well as automatic Terrain Awareness and Warning System by 2012.
"Many companies responded these demands less than enthusiastically...Due to different reasons we have postponed the implementation of these demands, but we agreed that since January 1, 2012, these requirements will come into force," Neradko said in an interview with Rossiya TV Channel, broadcasted to the Russian Far East.
Neradko added that the planes that would not have the necessary safety systems would not be operated.
Rosaviatsia chief dismissed the suggestion that these requirements were linked with the recent air crash in Russia's northern city of Petrozavodsk.
A RusAir Tu-134 crashed while landing at Petrozavodsk airport in northwest Russia on Monday, just before midnight, killing 44 people. Another died in later in the hospital.
