SMALL RUSSIAN CARRIERS FACE BANKRUPTCY

New rules proposed by the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) that only allow carriers with a minimum of 20 aircraft of the same type to run scheduled services, threatens the existence of up to a hundred small Russian airlines. Only about 15 airlines in Russia are in a position to comply with this requirement. Rosaviatsia wants the remaining firms to be downgraded to charter operator status or cease flying. The Russian agency is under investigation from authorities over an alleged license scam involving Continent Airline, a small Russian operator, which suspended flights and applied for bankruptcy last week over