Saturday, September 03, 2011

No-fly threat to Moscow airports. (With Video)


Published: 02 September, 2011, 22:29
Edited: 03 September, 2011, 17:44

Moscow airports face the threat of paralysis because of a shortage of aviation fuel. The warning came in Russian media reports quoting aviation industry sources.

­The problems began in the middle of August, and some reports say Russia’s Defense Ministry is to blame. It seems that a bulk order of fuel by the ministry left the capital’s airports short. Officials have cast doubt on the allegations, though, pointing out that the two military airports in the vicinity of the capital consume only a fraction of the fuel used by civil ones.

Another factor which could have exacerbated the situation is a 10 per cent increase in the number of civil flights.

Authorities at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport maintain that if the situation does not improve in the next week, the city’s airports will have to close down. They warned that they only have enough jet fuel for the next three days.

All the city’s airports have put in orders for more aviation fuel. Russia’s oil giant Transneft has been increasing its supplies to Moscow’s airports ever since the crisis began. Now, company officials are saying they could fix the situation within the next 24 hours.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is ready to sign a decree releasing fuel from the airports’ reserves, if necessary, said Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press-secretary.

“In case it becomes necessary to sign an executive decision to provide fuel from the airports’ reserve, it will immediately be signed,” stated Peskov.

A similar crisis occurred in Moscow last winter when more than 10,000 people had to spend the night at Domodedovo airport due to a blackout and a shortage of antifreeze.

Source:   http://rt.com

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