Five L-410 aircraft are planned to be acquired in 2012 for the airline being established in Vitebsk

August 1, Vitebsk /Sergey Kotchetov - BELTA/. A Czech investor plans to acquire five L-410 aircraft in 2012 for an airline being established in Vitebsk, Pavel Gorodnov, a member of the board of directors of PDW Group s.r.o., told BELTA correspondent.

Preliminary agreements on the deal have been reached with the manufacturer, Aircraft Industries a.s. (Czech Republic). It is expected that the first aircraft will land at Vitebsk airport in early 2012, and a total of 3-4 aircraft will be delivered next year, including one business-class aircraft, with the rest for passenger and cargo transportation. In addition, Czech aircraft manufacturers intend to establish a technical maintenance center in Vitebsk for aircraft of the L-410 type produced by the aviation enterprise. Currently, there are only two service structures operating – one directly in the Czech Republic and another in Yekaterinburg, so the center in Vitebsk will be able to service aircraft of this class from the Baltic states and the CIS, Pavel Gorodnov noted.

The agreements reached are planned to be formalized by signing official agreements at the "MAKS-2011" international air show, which will be held in Moscow from August 16 to 21. During the air show, Czech aircraft manufacturers will present a business-class aircraft based on the L-410, which is planned to be purchased for the Vitebsk airline, among other things.

Czech company PDW Group s.r.o. is implementing an investment project in Vitebsk to develop the infrastructure of Vitebsk Airport, which includes the creation of an airline, as well as a business aviation maintenance company, a refueling company, an airport services company, and a transport and logistics center in the vicinity of Vitebsk Airport. The preliminary investment volume is about 50 million euros.

The airline will be equipped with L-410 aircraft produced in the Czech Republic, and in the future, the possibility of leasing passenger Il-114 or Franco-Italian ATR aircraft is not excluded. During the project implementation, it is planned to build a hotel, a restaurant, and modernize the airport terminal complex of Vitebsk Airport, as well as to develop additional services. -0-