‘Federal Antimonopoly Service in Sverdlovsk Region found Koltsovo airport guilty of violating the antimonopoly legislation on December 19, 2006. It ordered the airport to retain the tradition timetable for Ural Airline flights to Moscow,’ says the press officer for the carrier.

‘The decision made by the Federal Antimonopoly Service is both an adequate and a legal step aimed at preventing the attempts of Koltsovo airport management to redistribute slots using their monopoly. The interference of this authority guarantees that passengers can enjoy their right to choose, which was not the case when the airport management was trying to choose for them,’ the press officer said.

‘The issue of the so-called historic slots is not the only one handled by the Federal Antimonopoly Service. They are going to consider the case related to overpriced fuel offered by the airport on December 21, 2006. Our clients have been longing for this decision for a while now. Our experience has shown that after the authority made the airport reduce the fuel prices, the regional population was able to choose not only among different carriers competing in the airport but also between the plane and the train. According to our data, cheaper plane tickets (brought about by the decrease in the fuel prices) led to our advance sales in terms of Moscow- and Saint Petersburg-bound flights quadrupling in December,’ the press officer observed.