Russia's S7 Airlines said Wednesday it was surprised at the authorities' decision to restrict flights to and from South Korea, favoring flag carrier Aeroflot
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th February, 2020) Russia's S7 Airlines said Wednesday it was surprised at the authorities' decision to restrict flights to and from South Korea, favoring flag carrier Aeroflot.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said air traffic with South Korea would be suspended over coronavirus starting March 1, except for flights of Aeroflot and its subsidiary Avrora.
"We are very surprised at this decision. S7 Airlines carries 20 percent of the passenger traffic on flights from Russia to South Korea. De facto, the ban on flights to South Korea for all companies except Aeroflot and Avrora means retiring of one of the key players � S7 Airlines. The ban will concern 90 percent of capacity at Aeroflot competition, but will not concern the Aeroflot company itself. We see no logical basis for this decision and consider it a grave breach of competition [rules] at air flight industry," the S7 CEO Anton Eremin said, as quoted by the press service.
Aeroflot said in response to the S7's statement that the decision was made by the commission responsible for preventative measures and its discussion was "inappropriate."
