No longer prepared to provide services for non payment (160 words)

Published: 9/12/2000

It appears that regional airlines long burdened with servicing non-paying local government customers may have finally decided enough is enough. Not however, without severe inconvenience to residents of some of Russia's remoter regions. Surgut-based Tyumenaviatrans (TAT), which has long complained of the onerous burden of supporting regional infrastructure without payment, is reported to have told the education department of the Yamalo-Nenezky autonomous district that it will no longer provide services carrying children for remote settlements to school without payment. The district currently owes around Rb3m ($0.10 m) according to reports, but has paid only 15% of the debt to TAT. According to Oleg Sorochinsky, the head of the district which was left without air connection, agreement has been reached with Yamal Airlines to carry the children to the boarding schools, but it may still leave some children from the tundra settlements unable to attend.

Article ID: 2071