Yekaterinburg State Fire Surveillance Department reports that order 93 given to Koltsovo airport on March 12, 2007 concerns violations of fire safety norms and regulations and demands for their elimination within a certain period of time. The order, however, does not make it obligatory to close down the check-in zones in question temporarily or permanently, since it is only the court that is entitled to decisions of this sort. The covering letter has no such power either, as it only lets the airport know what may happen if they fail to meet the safety requirements in time, says the letter of Director of Yekaterinburg State Fire Surveillance Department V. Kostromin to Koltsovo CEO M. Maximov.

According to Philip Fedulov (Deputy CEO), the closing down of the airport’s two largest check-in zones used for domestic flights was only a temporary thing occasioned by the fire department’s demand for their immediate closure. The airport’s press officer says the overhaul given to these areas of the airport will probably make the check-in routines slower as far as domestic flights are concerned; this is especially true of rush-hour flights that are performed using large airplanes.