Impact of military traffic during Chechen conflict puts airport at risk (680 words)

Published: 9/7/2001

Alexei Jabrailov, General Director of state-owned Dagestan Airlines, based at Makhachkala, is continuing to complain that the company is not being compensated for the damage caused to the airport's runway by military traffic involved in the Chechen conflict. According to Jabrailov, the carrier is owed $4.5m for the repairs, after estimates by the Ministry of Emergency Situations: a substantial increase on the $0.8m estimated last September by the airline itself. However, he appears happy to accept even half the sum, on the basis that it would allow urgent repairs to the airport's runway, as a way of beginning to get the airport operating normally again. Jabrailov is concerned that the window of opportunity for repairing the runway is tight, as the work can only be done in certain weather conditions, so the funding is required within two months; otherwise the runway will not be repaired until next spring, with the danger meanwhile that the GSGA may step in to close the runway and airport for failing to meet the required standards. Jabrailov says that, at present, the airline cannot completely guarantee the safety of flights as the damaged surface is loose, so raising the possibility of material being sucked into an engine during landing and takeoff. Asked about the possibility of funding the repairs from the airport's own resources, Jabrailov said that the airline simply does not have that kind of money and he believes that this is unlikely to change in the future, as its ongoing business seems set to continue to struggle to cover costs, given the rising expenses. This is particularly so in the case of aviation fuel from LUKoil's Volgograd Refinery that, Jabrailov claims, has been insensitive to the plight of its airline customers and has raised prices on the basis that it gains nothing from keeping them down. He is also troubled by rising air traffic control fees, concluding that the effort to recoup the higher costs through increased prices has had the impact of dampening demand. Jabrailov, who has been General Director of the airline since 1992, developed a plan in 1995, in conjunction with the Italian company Engener Eco Consulting, for the development for the upgrading of Makhachkala Airport at a cost of $215m. The proposed project involved the renovation of the airport's buildings and extension of the runway to 3000m, as well as the construction of a new hangar. The Italian side, however, failed to find the financing against the background of the worsening Chechen situation. Since the end of the 1999 Chechen war, the airline has continued to reopen domestic flights, starting with a route to St Petersburg in July 2000, and in 2001 has included flights to Krasnodar, Rostov, Mineral Waters, Samara and Nizhnevartovsk. Seat load factorm still remains low, given the softness of demand in the region and the general reluctance to fly close to the troubled Chechen region. According to Jabrailov, the result of the low demand for the airline is losses of $1720 per each half empty flight. He acknowledges that Victor Kazantsev, the President's Representative in the South federal district, has tried to help the airline, particularly in terms of fuel prices, but says that little has been achieved. Jabrailov believes that the state, as the airline's 100% owner, should be actively supportive, although at this point he seems likely to be content, if only the government made good its existing commitments. Recently Makhachkala hosted a meeting dedicated to transportation problems, involving the Ministry of Transportation. The ministry promised funds in 2002, but Jabrailov stresses that this is too late, as the money is needed now, before the airport is closed. Dagestan Airlines includes Makhachkala Airport, the Aviation Technical Base, which is certified to service Tu-154, An-2, An-24, Tu-134, Yak-40 and Mi-8, and its own catering facility. The airline operates four Tu-154Ms, acquired in 1994, with support of Dagestan Government and representing 95% of all revenues. Additionally, the airline has two An-24s, one of which is inoperable and two Mi-8s, chartered to companies in Dagestan.

Article ID: 2737