After a day’s delay, the jets of AiRUnion took off from Domodedovo airport of Moscow yesterday afternoon.
Photo: Andrei Makhonin
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AiRUnion Sank Into Air Pocket
After a day’s delay, the jets of AiRUnion took off from Domodedovo airport of Moscow yesterday afternoon. In essence, the destiny of alliance is clear already. By banning the airlines of AiRUnion from selling tickets for winter season, Rosaviatsia has signaled that AiRUnion will probably cease to exist in November. Sources with Transport Ministry say the best solution for the alliance will be to voluntary apply for bankruptcy.
The flights of AiRUnion airlines were halted in Domodedovo airport on debt claims Wednesday. No breakthrough happened by yesterday morning. At roughly 1:00 p.m., however, the alliance announced that, under the guarantee of Rostekhnologii, it has agreed on supplies of 3,600 tons of jet fuel for the jets stalled in Moscow (24 flights by that time) and the flights will continue till weekend.
Meanwhile, Evgeny Bachurin, chief of Russia’s Federal Aircraft Agency Rosaviatsia, announced that 3,500 people had suffered from the delay, including 2,000 in Domodedovo airport. If AiRUnion halted the flights during summer season (that ends in mid-October), servicing hundreds of its passengers would be impossible, Rosaviatsia acknowledged, banning the alliance from selling the tickets for winter season.
“We cannot allow paying the current debts from future sales, as we don’t know how the situation will develop in future,” Bachurin explained. “We are getting ready for the worse in hope that it won’t happen.”
The final decision on AiRUnion’s destiny is yet to be taken, said an unnamed source with the RF Transport Ministry. One of the reasons is that Rostekhnologii CEO Sergei Chemezov is on vocation this week and Transport Minister Igor Levitin pays a scheduled visit to China. Both officials are expected in Moscow on Monday. Anyway, the best solution for AiRUnion would be to voluntary apply for bankruptcy and external management, the source pointed out.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 22, 2008
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