Threat Comes In Response To Grounding Of Aeroflot Subsidiary

Political leaders in Moscow are considering a ban on European flights over Siberia en route to Asia as a response to the cancellation of a lease agreement between low-cost carrier Dobrolyot ... a subsidiary of Aeroflot ... and the European Union.

The EU took the action because Dobrolyot flies to Crimea, which Russia annexed in March from Ukraine.

Reuters reports that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (pictured) said a "possible retaliation" should be discussed during a recent meeting with the Russian Transport minister and the deputy chief executive of Aeroflot. If European airlines are forced to stay out of Russian airspace on routes to Asia it would make flights longer and burn more fuel.

The threat is a two-edged sword, however, because Russia collects fees from airlines transiting its airspace. But Russian aviation consultant Boris Ryabok told Reuters that the additional fuel costs would cost European airlines about 25-50 percent more than paying those fees.

The fees themselves have been the subject of a long-running dispute between Moscow and the EU. If the ban is put in place, it could cost airlines like Lufthansa and British Airways as much as an additional $1.3 billion, analysts say.

(Image courtesy of www.kremlin.ru)

FMI: http://europa.eu/index_en.htm