Airline in talks with the authorities over charter restrictions (157 words)

Published: 6/12/2001

Siberia Airlines (Sibir) has reported that, on 6th June, it began its summer charter programme, with a Tu-154 flight carrying 156 passengers to Turkey from Novosibirsk. The company plans to fly the route once a week through the June-August period. Having been excluded by the Ministry of Transport from flying charters to Bulgaria out of Moscow, the airline also announced that, in mid-June, it plans to fly at least twice a week to Varna from Novosibirsk, as well as Larnaca and, in July, to Barcelona. Gleb Osokin, spokesman for Sibir, said that the ministry's decision restricting charter flights after 31st May 2001 only affected the airline's flights from Moscow. He was, however, reluctant to discuss the exclusion of the non-Moscow charter airlines from carrying tourists to Bulgaria from Moscow, other than to comment that the company was discussing the problem with the authorities.

Article ID: 2584