Optimistic statement from the Belarus State Aviation Committee on 1999 airline performance

Published: 2/14/2000

According to statements in the Minsk-based newspaper, Openby, by Alexander Dosta, Deputy Chairman of the Belarus State Aviation Committee, it seems that the Belarus civil aviation sector is currently in rude health. Dosta claims that, in 1999, the country's collective airline revenues grew by over 400% to 6,000 billion old Belarus rubles, or 6 billion new rubles after the currency was re-denominated on the 1st January 2000 and now trades as 366 new rubles to the US dollar. 75% of the income is generated in currencies other than that of Belarus against a background of high domestic inflation. He added, however, that the operating companies had reinvested over 75% of revenues in modernisation and repair to keep fleets in “operable condition”, which hints at the condition of many of the airlines. More generally, Dosta said that government investments from various agencies of 994 billion old rubles (994m new/$2.7m) had been used to refurbish military Il-76s and to make extensive repairs and upgrades to the airport infrastructure in Minsk. Rather surprisingly for an industry operating in conditions of rampant inflation, economic decline and soaring fuel costs, Dosta said that the airline sector in Belarus operated profitably in 1999 and returned $8m in profit: no doubt helped by falling domestic costs and flat hard currency revenues. Eight airlines lost money in the period, according the Deputy Director, including all the regional operators, Minskavia and the Central Ticket Office, although he added that this was down from 13 in 1998. The media reports of Dosta's statements do not reveal whether or not there was any recovery in passenger volumes for Belarussian operators, with numbers falling by 39% domestically and 10% internationally in the first six months of 1999.

Article ID: 1412