The government is considering a plan to allow foreign low-cost airlines to fly domestically, the head of the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said Tuesday.
Igor Artemyev's statement came after a meeting of the government commission for competition and the development of small and medium-sized businesses, Interfax reported.
"We are very actively discussing the issue of inviting foreign low-cost airlines ... including for domestic transportation," Artemyev, said. "We expect to hold a serious discussion on this."
He also said talks were under way about measures to create incentives for the establishment of domestic budget carriers.
Currently, low-cost airlines that fly to Russia include Germany's Air Berlin and Germanwings, Spain's Vueling Airlines, Norway's Norwegian, Austria's Niki, Turkey's Pegasus Airlines and the United Arab Emirates-based companies Air Arabia and Flydubai.
Such industry giants as EasyJet and Ryanair don't operate in Russia.
The only domestic low-cost airlines were SkyExpress, founded in 2006, and Avianova, which began flying in 2009. Both ceased operations in 2011.
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