Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) says it has given local carrier VIM Airlines (Moscow Domodedovo) one week as of July 20 to improve its on-time performance following a series of prolonged delays.
The regulator says that even though it warned the carrier early on in the summer season to improve its operations, delays have continued to plague its flight operations. In some cases, passengers have been subjected to delays of up to several hours, it said.
VIM Airlines management have in turn blamed the delays on the late delivery of a B777-200(ER) from its lessor. However, with the arrival of VP-BDW (msn 28417), it says its operations have now "stabilized" and that it is taking all possible steps necessary to improve the status-quo.
Cognizant of the move, Rosaviatsia has warned the airline that if the delays continue to persist, it will have to impose restrictions on its AOC.
VIM Airlines operates four A319-100s, two B737-500s, six B757-200s, one B767-300(ER), and five B777-200(ER)s (three of which are currently active) on scheduled services and charter flights to leisure destinations across Russia, the CIS, and the Mediterranean for and on behalf of local Russian tour operators.
