The Russian selling and swapping airline tickets market

Now this is scary. Be sure to read the whole thing.

People who privately sell and swap airline tickets -- like the person who helped two suspected suicide bombers board the planes that crashed almost simultaneously last month -- are still out in full force in airports, and a bribe of as little as 500 rubles ($17) can get anybody on board a domestic flight, according to aviation officials and media reports.

. . .

A passenger can pay an airport staffer as little as 500 rubles to be whisked past security checks or sent through staff-only corridors, he said.

"A 'client' just needs to ask an airport employee, who will then take him by the hand and lead him to the airplane," he said.

"There are many loopholes, especially at night. The easiest way is to go through staff-only. The fee is 200 rubles," he said.

For 100 rubles, a bus driver can be hired to take a passenger directly to the plane.

"Off-duty buses usually wait in a designated place. Then you give another 200 rubles to the airport boarding agent, who signs off on the passenger manifest," he said.