Ak Bars Aero (Bugulma) has had its Air Operators Certificate (AOC) suspended by Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) following a request from airline general director Peotr Trubaev.
In his application to the regulatory body, Trubaev said the airline was suspending operations for the winter owing to a deterioration of 'key performance indicators' coupled with the carrier's 'unstable financial' situation.
"Our operator's certificate has been suspended for the winter-spring season, when there is a decrease in passenger traffic and aircraft loads are minimal," it said in a statement.
The suspension will allow the airline to reduce expenditure through the streamlining of its staff and fleet numbers. Once the imbalances have been corrected, the airline plans to resume operations in April focussing primarily on state-subsidized routes.
