The Russian Ministry of Transport has confirmed its interest in the troubled airline VIM-Avia of businessman Boris Karlov, Interfax-Tourism reports.
“Yes, I can confirm,” the head of the Department of State Policy in Civil Aviation of the Ministry of Transport told journalists Svetlana Petrova, answering the relevant question.
B. Karlov is the managing director of the investment fund TPG Aurora. RBC previously reported on his interest in VIM-Avia, citing sources. The publication's sources claimed that B. Karlov, who had previously tried to restart Transaero, was ready to invest in the airline if it received government support. Also, according to RBC, it was B. Karlov who recommended appointing Alexander Burdin as the new CEO of VIM-Avia.
Rosaviatsiya announced at the end of September that VIM-Avia was suspending all charter flights due to financial problems and a lack of working capital. The suspension was preceded by a series of flight delays from Russian and foreign airports, affecting thousands of passengers.
Source: trn-news.ru