- March 6, 2015
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Russian air carriers are asking the authorities as soon as possible to understand the situation with the law on personal data protection, the amendments which come into force September 1st. If lawmakers do not reconsider some of these amendments, then, according to market players, they will have to suspend the sale and booking tickets for flights.
If there is no compromise in the early fall will stop not only online sales, but also ordinary, as all tickets sellers somehow tied to electronic databases.
Air Transport Operators Association, brings together 19 leading Russian airlines, appealed to business ombudsman Boris Titov with a request to amend the law. He himself has said that shares the concern of airlines and intends to bring these concerns to the government.
However, these fears government knew last summer, when taken controversial amendments to the law. Since then, out of the situation, the authorities have not offered, moreover, in December rescheduled the entry into force of the new legislation a year earlier – September 1, 2016 September 1, 2015.
What is the essence of maturing crisis than it threatens simple passengers – and whether there is a way out of the situation? BBC Russian Service has tried to answer these questions.
What the new law prevents carriers?
The Russian authorities last year attended the security of personal data that citizens are left on the Internet. The State Duma adopted a law (to be exact, the law on amendments to a number of other laws, including personal data), according to which they should be stored only on servers in the country and not be transferred abroad.
The new rules have affected virtually all websites providing online booking services and sales. Caught in the new regulation and ticket sales.
The problem is that more than 70% of the seats on the flights of Russian airlines sold through foreign reservation system. Of them in the Russian market the strongest position in three: Sabre, Amadeus and TravelPort. In particular, the state “Aeroflot” is selling almost all the tickets through the Sabre.
This means that information about the Russian citizens, the same flights flying “Aeroflot” – even in Russia – is transferred to foreign systems and stored on servers outside the country. This directly contradicts the and has not yet entered into force law.
How does the system of ticket sales
During the year the airline world make tens of millions of flights. Sell this amount of tickets (and at different prices in different classes) – a lot of work that airlines often delegate specific companies. They are called global distribution systems, and a lot of them around the world.
In Russia, the most well known, other than those mentioned above, Amadeus, Gabriel and Galileo. There are Russian and distribution systems – “Siren-2000″ and TAIS CRS (although the latest in the industry do not consider itself per se, but it provides similar services).
The chain of intermediaries when buying a ticket via the Internet as follows: agency on the site that we are trying to find we are interested ticket requests information from international distribution systems (usually once in a few), as well as those airlines to which it has a direct connection (recent trend).
After receiving the answer , it takes the money from the buyer and notify another party chain – settlement system. In Russia there are two such systems, exercising control over the payments in the field of transport: International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Transport Clearing House.
The global distribution system, the data carriers transmit them to the airline, and that, when Flight time comes, send personal information to the airport of departure, the passenger could check in.
Thus, the personal data of citizens twice cross borders when sent to a global distribution system (and through airline) and when transferred by the airline itself in the airport of departure.
How to eliminate the contradiction between the law and reality
“What did the state? It said that all servers must be here in Russia. Okay, fine. But then British Airways or another company learn that their flight ticket purchased – and that you need to register for departure from a specific airport? ” – Asks CEO Aviacassa.ru Maxim Poberezhnik.
According to him, British Airways, operating in 150 countries, it is easier to abandon the Russian direction than wrestle with building your own data center in Russia, the more that the Russian authorities have not explained what they expect from the players.
In the absence of initiative from the aeronautical authorities of trying to solve the problem themselves. According to “Kommersant”, in mid-February in the Moscow office IATA gathered the largest market participants. They thought about how to keep the business after the entry into force of the law.
As a result, according to the newspaper, they came to the conclusion that the law can be avoided if the personal information collected on the territory of Russia, then send her abroad, where after the necessary actions on booking or purchase it will be destroyed.
Option to transfer to the Russian reservation system is complex due to the fact that they often do not meet the needs of technologically airlines that recognize and Ministry of Transport.
“In [this] system has a future, if the first five airlines will start to invest in its development, – said the BBC BBC in the Ministry of Transport, and then actually questioned his own words. – Are on carriers such investments, taking into account the macroeconomic situation, low-margin business, and so on? “
The ministry said that the transition of Russian airlines in Russia as the booking system will need one to three years.
Because of this, some experts believe that the law on the protection of personal data will have to either revise or postpone the date of its entry into force. Otherwise, ticket sales really stop, and no one needs.
“I think that because now there is no understanding of what to do next – will be agreed to postpone the date of entry into force of the law, and it is possible not even at 1 January 2016, and at a later date “- believes Maxim Poberezhnik.
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