MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. A criminal case may be initiated following mass delays of baggage deliveries at the Sheremetyevo Airport, Alexander Kurennoi, a representative of Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on Tuesday.

"As for the signs of penal actions, it [the issue] will be resolved after the checks are officially completed. I do not rule out that. Just a week or two is left and the check will be completed," Kurennoi said in an interview with the Internet channel of the Prosecutor General's Office.

Kurennoi noted that as part of these checks, prosecutors are studying how ground handling is organized at the airport.

"The inspection included the staffing for ground operations and their equipment. This collapse happened for some reason," the representative of the supervisory authority noted.

In addition, now on a daily basis, the officials of the Prosecutor General's Office are receiving citizens at the Sheremetyevo Airport, in particular on the issue of baggage delivery.

To date, 38 cases of administrative offences have been initiated under Part 1 of Art. 14.4 of Russia’s Administrative Code ("Provision of services to the population failing to meet the requirements of regulatory legal acts") following passengers’ complaints about the quality of services rendered by Aeroflot and Nordwind airlines.

Measures were taken to eliminate the violations, the officials responsible were subjected to disciplinary proceedings. In particular, the airport management decided to dismiss a number of managers of the handling operator LLC Sheremetyevo Handling.

Sheremetyevo Airport has seen delays of baggage deliveries since June 1. The airport’s press service linked it to the peak load in the tourist season. Later, head of the airport Mikhail Vasilenko said that the disruption in baggage delivery was caused by a change in the technological processes in terms of the maintenance and processing, not by a shortage of baggage handlers. According to him, passengers had to wait for luggage for more than 2.5 hours. In mid-June, the airport reported that the situation is improving.