According to the Transportation Ministry, this decision was made at the Friday meeting of the State Commission investigating the dual air crash of Tu-134 and Tu-154 passenger planes.
The working group will be co-chaired by the First Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin and Deputy Transportation Minister Alexander Misharin.
At the end of the meeting, the head of the State Commission, Transportation Minister Igor Levitin and Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev signed the directive "On Organizational Measures to Safeguard Security on Air Transport".
According to the directive, in order to ensure air security and to resist terrorism at transport facilities, the Interior Ministry's officers of middle and senior ranks shall be included in the passenger screening groups functioning at civil airports. Appropriate amendments shall be made to the effective legislation of the Russian Federation.
These officers will take part in the pre-flight and post-flight screening of air passengers, their hand and check-in luggage as well as in withholding objects and substances prohibited for transportation by air. They will also carry out special measures aimed at pre-empting terrorist attacks against transport facilities. In addition, the directive obliges police officers to safeguard personal security of citizens and their property, to ensure public order in the passenger screening areas, and check validity of passengers' passports with the help of the Interior Ministry's "Search-Main Line" database in order to detect and apprehend individuals wanted for or suspected of committing crimes.
The directive obliges managing directors of all air transport facilities, heads of local air security services and heads of regional transport police offices to bring in appropriate changes in the job descriptions of all officers of the air security service and transport police engaged in screening of passengers and their luggage to ensure due coordination and interaction in safeguarding security on air transport.
They must also implement due measures to upgrade the technical level of the screening equipment installed in the passenger screening areas and at the airports' check-up points to eliminate a possibility of unauthorized entry into security zones or carriage of weapons or explosives.
