Russia said the cargo unit of German airline Lufthansa can fly through its airspace until Feb. 29 if the firm commits to moving its regional hub to a Russian airport, a Transport Ministry official said on Tuesday.
"We have the intention to extend temporary permission until Feb. 29. We will extend the permission today or tomorrow," Vladimir Tasun, head of the ministry`s civil aviation regulation department, told reporters.
Tasun said the extension would be granted after Lufthansa clarifies its position regarding the move of its regional hub to a Russian airport.
Tasun said Russian and German aviation authorities agreed in February 2007 that Lufthansa will move its regional hub to the Krasnoyarsk airport in Siberia from Astana in Kazakhstan.
He said a German official had promised to give a timetable for the hub relocation on Tuesday.
Russia stopped Lufthansa cargo planes from flying through its airspace at the end of October and later gave permission for flights until Nov. 15.
The firm uses Astana, its second-biggest cargo airport after Frankfurt, as a connecting point for flights to southeast Asia. In 2006, it carried out 2,542 flights to and from China, Japan, South Korea via Astana.
Lufthansa said moving the hub to Krasnoyarsk was not a realistic option because the infrastructure there did not meet necessary requirements.
"It is clear that Lufthansa is trying to negotiate better terms," Tasun said, adding that Lufthansa asked Russia to install equipment needed for landing in low visibility conditions and halve tariffs.
"The airport officials are ready to examine all conditions put forward by Lufthansa," Tasun said.
He said the modernisation of the Krasnoyarsk airport would take about one year and cost up to 500 million roubles ($20.42 million).
sections: Society |