Ural Airlines temporarily suspends operating flights to Uzbekistan

The Federal Air Transport Agency has temporarily suspended Ural Airlines flights abroad, vedomosti writes about this with reference to the agency’s order.

According to the document, the reason was problems with the legal registration of the carrier’s rights to the aircraft. To regain the right to foreign flights, the company must sign a tripartite agreement with the National Leasing Company of Russia and the current lessor.

Access to international routes, previously granted to Ural Airlines, was temporarily transferred to other companies. These include Aeroflot, Azimut, Red Wings and Azur Air.

Thus, Aeroflot received the right to operate seven flights on the route St. Petersburg - Bukhara. Red Wings was given additional access to Tashkent, Bukhara, Istanbul, Astana and Alma-Ata, and Azimut was given access to Tashkent.

It is noted that the Federal Air Transport Agency only revoked the permits that Ural Airlines did not use. According to a source at one of the airlines, clearances have been transferred to competitors until the company has a fleet to service the flights.

An interviewee working at one of the major airports called the temporary transfer of clearances “normal practice”, while noting the benefit of retaining them with the base carrier. Ural Airlines refused to comment on the situation.

The airline’s fleet includes 52 medium-haul Airbus aircraft. Some of them have not been “cleared” of double registration in Russia and abroad, which does not allow their use in most foreign destinations.