The government has released another tranche to Rostekhnologii to pay Air Union Alliance's debt.
The government has provided Rostekhnologii with 1.1 billion roubles in accordance with the executive order issued by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin (the document is posted on the government website www.government.ru). This money is intended to reimburse the costs incurred by Air Union Alliance, the Prime Minister's press spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained to Vedomosti. The total amount earmarked in the budget is 3.5 billion roubles, of which 1.5 billion roubles have already been disbursed.
Last summer services to the Alliance's companies KrasAir, Domodedovo Airlines and Samara (all bankrupt now) were suspended because of unpaid debts. Their flights were transferred from Domodedovo Airport to Vnukovo and their passengers were taken on by other airlines: Aeroflot, Sibir, Transaero and Atlant-Soyuz. The airlines provided these services for free (the only exception being Sibir, which offered reduced fares) as the government promised to reimburse their costs later. The compensation mechanism was described to Vedomosti by the head of Rosaviatsia, Gennady Kurzenkov, was as follows: the 3.5 billion roubles are transferred to Rostekhnologii and that state corporation then distributes the funds.
Transaero is owed 20 million roubles and Atlant Soyuz more than 5.8 billion roubles. (Vedomosti has obtained a copy of a letter from Moscow Mayor Luzhkov to Putin in which this sum is named.) Atlant had to borrow from the Bank of Moscow and Gazprom (1.5 billion roubles from each) to transport Air Union's passengers. The first loan will be redeemed by the airline's trustee, Vnukovo Airport. The guarantor of the second loan is Rostekhnologii. Airports are also expecting compensation (Domodedovo has even taken Vnukovo to court over 1 billion roubles of Air Union's debt) as is Rosrezerv, which supplied 24,000 tons of kerosene worth 750 million roubles.
Rostekhnologii will use the money (2.6 billion roubles) to repay the debts it has underwritten, notably Gazprombank's loans to Atlant and Rosrezerv, an employee of the corporation said (the official spokesperson declined to comment).
Yevgeny Shago, an analyst with Ingosstrakh Investitsii, points out that
5 billion roubles clearly will not be enough to reimburse everyone. Those who do not receive compensation will either have to write off the debt or appeal directly to the government. They can take their claims to court, but Mr Shago notes, in this case they must have evidence and know whom one is suing.
Anastasia Dagayeva, Maxim Tovkailo
