On November 22, the Union of Business Travel Agencies (SAD) sent a letter to the Russian government with a request not to introduce the requirement of QR codes when buying tickets for trains and airplanes, Izvestia learned.
On November 12, the government submitted to the State Duma a bill providing, among other things, for access to long-distance and international flights on trains and airplanes using QR codes. The current version of the document assumes that the code will be requested both at the check-in stage for the flight and when buying a ticket.
Obviously, the bill is aimed at countering the spread of COVID-19, but at the same time it provides for a de facto ban on pre-booking and issuing air and train tickets for passengers who have not shown a QR code, the business statement said. This measure could prevent citizens from planning their travel and vaccination schedule, the authors of the letter believe.
The SAD offered to use world experience and not allow citizens to transport without QR codes, but sell tickets freely.
A similar letter to the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Transport and Construction, Evgeny Moskvichyov, was previously sent by the Association of Air Transport Agencies (AAVT).
“The problem is that for many Russians who have been vaccinated a long time ago, QR codes will soon cease to work. And according to the amendments proposed to the legislation, the ticket can be bought only within the dates on which the QR code will still be valid. Conventionally, if a person’s action ends in February, and he wants to buy tickets for the May holidays right now, this will not work, ”said Dmitry Gorin, vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST), member of the Board of AAVT, to Izvestia.
Read more in the exclusive material from Izvestia:
Code question: tourist business asked not to enter QR when buying tickets