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Vnukovo airport suspends services to flights of Kuban Airlines

Moscow Vnukovo airport has suspended servicing a number of flights to be performed by the Kuban Airlines company on Thursday

MOSCOW, December 22 (Itar-Tass) — Moscow Vnukovo airport has suspended servicing a number of flights to be performed by the Kuban Airlines company on Thursday.

Vnukovo has announced that it has suspended servicing Moscow-Istanbul flight 701 scheduled to depart from Vnukovo "B" terminal at 5. 40 pm and Moscow- Krasnodar flight 134 due to depart from terminal "A" at 8. 30 pm Thursday.

The Vnukovo airport announced that in connection with the insolvency of the Kuban Airlines company, which cannot finance the service costs, Vnukovo airport will not service these flights. The Kuban Airlines’ debt to Vnukovo airport is around 400 million roubles. No guarantees on debt rescheduling had been provided until now, Vnukovo said.

Kuban Airlines has challenged the Vnukovo position as an act of "pressure for settlement of financial issues". "The Vnukovo managers have threatened to suspend services to passengers before the New Year holidays, demanding to change the earlier reached financial agreements," Kuban Airlines said. It claims there is a schedule of payments earlier coordinated with Vnukovo airport and that Kuban Airlines is prepared to continue its activities in the framework of the earlier reached agreements.

A source from the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) told Itar - Tass on Thursday that the talks between Kuban Airlines and Vnukovo airport were going on. The purpose of the talks is to prevent the Kuban Airlines flights from being thwarted, Rosaviatsia said.

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