Rosaviatsiya: conflict between "Vnukovo" and "Kuban Airlines" should not affect passengers

Clarification of the relationship between the top management of the Moscow airport "Vnukovo" and the airline "ALK" is irresponsible under conditions of rising passenger traffic during the holidays. This was declared by the Federal Air Transport Agency ("Rosaviatsiya"), which urged the parties to reconcile the conflict.

Let us remind you that the airport "Vnukovo" declared its refusal to serve flights of the airline "Kuban Airlines" (ALK) on the routes Moscow-Istanbul and Moscow-Krasnodar. The airport explained such measures by financial failure of the airline and its inability to pay for its current activities. The airline "Kuban" called the actions of the airport "Vnukovo" called "unreasonable pressure".

According to the airport "Vnukovo", the company's arrears to be paid to the enterprises of the airport complex, amount to about 400 million roubles, and the airport has no possibility to serve the airline without payments, the "RIA Novosti" reports.

According to the "Rosaviatsiya", about 8000 passengers of the airline "Kuban" purchased tickets in the New Year's Eve with the place of departure and arrival at the airport "Vnukovo".

According to the on-line display panel of the airport "Vnukovo", today the airline "Kuban" sent flights to Sharm el-Sheikh, Istanbul, and Krasnodar from the airport "Vnukovo". As effective at 11:21 p.m., the flight to Makhachkala is being delayed.

"For the winter period, the extended programme of charter flights to popular winter resorts in Europe and the regional programme to resorts of Egypt have already been approved. Disruption of those flights could have sad consequences for tourists and for the airport itself, which could lose more than 100,000 passengers in case of refusal to render services to the airline 'Kuban'," the official website of the airline "Kuban" reports.

However, till present, top managers of the "Rosaviatsiya", the airline "Kuban", and the airport "Vnukovo" does not disseminate information about what passengers should do in case of flight cancellations.

"Even if flights are stopped technically, we can predict a tough response of prosecutor's office, which would support passengers. Earlier, when airports stopped servicing flights, prosecutors demanded to serve them, despite the debts," the "Gazeta.ru" quotes Oleg Panteleev, the head of the analytical department of the agency "Airport", as saying.

Anonymous source from the aviation industry does not exclude that the airline will replace the airport of location in Moscow and it will move from the airport "Vnukovo" to the Airport "Domodedovo", the "ITAR-TASS" reports.

According to Vitaly Vantsev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the OJSC (Open Joint-Stock Company) "Vnukovo International Airport", recently, he learnt of sale of assets of the airline "Kuban".

"In the month of December, we learn that the airline is selling its assets, it is selling its aircrafts, and it does not pay us. We meet the top managers of the airline and ask what's going on. And they say that they face December and New Year's programme and that we will not dare to stop them," the website of the airport quotes Vitaly Vantsev as saying.

The very airline does not confirm the fact of sale of aircrafts. The aviation sector of the company "Basic Element", which owns the assets of the airline, also has not yet commented on the Vitaly Vantsev's statements.

Let us remind you that in early December, the OJSC "Kuban Airlines" "assumed the obligations before passengers of the airline "Sky Express", which went out of business, to transport and compensate funds to be refunded.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the company also took over rendering services to passengers of the Dagestani "Dagestani Airlines". At the same time, flights are announced to the airport "Vnukovo".

Since the beginning of the year, for various reasons, at once several airlines, operating in the south of Russia, faced problems. Thus, on July 29, the "Rosaviatsiya" received a message from the general director of the airline "Continent" on revocation of the operator's certificate due to suspension of operations. At least 16 flights of the airline were cancelled at airports of the south of Russia (Krasnodar, Sochi, Anapa, and Gelendzhik).

On September 28, the "Kavminvodyavia", one of the largest airlines of Northern Caucasus, stopped its operations, its flights were taken over by the airline "Donavia", the "daughter" of the Airline "Aeroflot".

On December 19, the Federal Air Transport Agency ("Rosaviatsiya") revoked the certificate of the OJSC "Dagestani Airlines".