It has recently been detected that a number of Russian air carriers have been selling tickets for the flights not sanctioned by the aviation authorities. Sky Express, for example, signed chartered flights agreements to take its passengers to Pardubice, the Czech Republic, even though the permission to do this was not procured. Avianova started selling tickets for Moscow-Simferopol flight without obtaining the permission of the Ukrainian authorities o do so as well, RBC daily reports.

Rosaviation’s spokesperson says the airline actually contracted for operating flights which it has no legal right to operate because of the lack of the necessary set of permits. The flights in question were supposed to have been operated on March 27, 2011, with 264 passengers on board. Due to the violations the company turned out to be guilty of, the passengers were unable to fly to their destinations on time, so the flights were delayed by twelve and four and a half hours, Rosaviation reports.

‘As Sky Express committed some violations of the air legislation norms in what regards its chartered flights on March 27, 2011, Rosaviation will now carry out an unplanned investigation of the company to look into its compliance with the license terms and the regulations relating to flying passengers and transporting cargo. The results of the investigation might be seen as calling for the appropriate redress,’ the agency explains.