KIEV, January 9 (Itar-Tass) – AeroSvit Airlines, which faces financial difficulties, has cancelled several flights from the international airport of Borispol, the airport’s press service told Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
Flights to Simferopol, Warsaw, Minsk, Athens, Yerevan, Bucharest, Donetsk and Odessa have been cancelled. Eight flights from Prague, Simferopol, Minsk, Bucharest, Donetsk, Athens, Odessa and Yerevan have been also cancelled. Hundreds of passengers could not fly off from other cities. Representatives of AeroSvit Airlines explain the situation by the fact that its planes are given up service due to the debt.
Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov demanded Ukrainian officials should study the situation in one of the largest airliners – AeroSvit Airlines.
“We have no right to admit the private company’s problems to cause damage to the interests of thousands of our and foreign citizens,” Azarov said at a government.
“The fact that AeroSvit passengers became hostages of the unhealthy situation is absolutely unacceptable. It is necessary to interfere in this situation,” the prime minister said.
In his words, the airliner must act within local legislation and the norms of international law. Azarov instructed Vice-Prime Minister Alexander Vikulov “to study the situation as soon as possible and prepare proposals in this aspect”.
“Of course, all passengers, who turned out to be abroad, should return home as soon as possible. Compensations should be paid to those whose flights were delayed and cancelled,” Azarov said.
AeroSvit Airlines have cancelled the flight to Bucharest from Kiev and the flight to Kiev from Bucharest. The flight to Yerevan from Kiev and back has been also cancelled. Last Tuesday the company cancelled eight flights arrival and nine local and foreign flights.
On December 29, 2012, upon considering a petition from the foresaid air company, the Arbitration Court of the Kiev Region launched the court proceedings in the bankruptcy of the air company. Meanwhile, the court ruled to launch the procedure of the AeroSvit property crisis management. The court hearings are scheduled at a preparatory court session on January 23.
The debts of the air company to the creditors reached about 533 million dollars as of December 27, 2012.
The air company AeroSvit – Ukrainian Airlines, which was founded in 1994, is based at the Kiev airport Borispol. This air carrier has the most sweeping network of regular international routes, serves over 60 flights in 34 countries, including five transcontinental nonstop airlines to New York, Toronto, Beijing, New Delhi and Bangkok. Aerosvit ensures the transportation of the passengers in the largest Ukrainian cities, including Dnepropetrovsk, Donetsk, the Zaporozhye Region, Ivano-Frankovsk, Lvov, Odessa, Simferopol and Kharkov. The air company AeroSvit operates 28 airliners produced by the air company Boeing, including eight long-haul airliners Boeing-767 and 20 medium-haul airliners Boeing-737.