OREANDA-NEWS. Aeroflot has changed the terms and conditions of its Mercy Miles programme to make it even easier for passengers to donate their accumulated air miles to charitable causes.

The threshold for donating miles has been lowered to a personal Aeroflot Bonus account balance of 3,000 miles (previously 5,000 miles), and the minimum donation has been reduced to 1000 miles.

Aeroflot has also introduced two-step identification using SMS messaging to increase account security for members of the Aeroflot Bonus scheme.

Aeroflot’s Public Council approved the changes to allow easier donations of Mercy Miles following a proposal from Chulpan Khamatova, the actress and co-founder of the Gift of Life foundation.

As the national flag carrier, Aeroflot plays an active role in Russian public life by supporting charitable organisations and organising social initiatives. The Mercy Miles programme was established in 2008 to provide support to children. Aeroflot Bonus members can donate miles to a number of different foundations (Gift of Life, Life Line, Russian Assistance Fund and the Vladimir Spivakov International Charitable Foundation). These miles are then used to provide air tickets for seriously ill children to allow them to travel for treatment abroad or in Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as for gifted children to allow them to develop their creative abilities across Russia and abroad.

Miles can be donated by filling in a donation form at Aeroflot offices in Moscow or by logging in to your personal account on the Aeroflot website.

Aeroflot is Russia’s flagship carrier and one of the largest airline groups in Europe. In 2015, Aeroflot carried 26.1 million passengers (39.4 million passengers as Aeroflot Group including subsidiaries), a record for any Russian airline. A proud member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance, Aeroflot and its partners serve 1,057 destinations in 179 countries worldwide. Aeroflot operates one of the youngest fleets in the world, numbering 169 Airbus, Boeing and Sukhoi airliners. Aeroflot is among the global leaders in aviation safety. The company’s European Community Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) Index, which is the main globally recognized safety parameter, is comparable to global peers. The first Russian carrier to enter the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) register, renewing its registration for the sixth time in 2015, Aeroflot has successfully passed the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and is fully ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 compliant. In 2015 Aeroflot was named by SKYTRAX as the Best Airline in Eastern Europe for the fourth time. Find more at www.aeroflot.com.