SOOO "VitebskaviaService" will allocate 17 million euros for the purchase of 5 aircraft and the creation of a service center

August 19, Vitebsk / Sergey Kotovetov - BELTA/. SOOO "VitebskaviaService" will invest about 17 million euros in the purchase of five L-410 aircraft and the creation of a maintenance center for aircraft of this class, Pavel Gorodnov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Belarusian-Czech enterprise, told a BELTA correspondent.

An agreement of intent for cooperation in these areas between "VitebskaviaService" and the manufacturer Aircraft Industries a.s. (Czech Republic) was signed at the ongoing Moscow Air Show "MAKS-2011".

In accordance with the agreement, it is planned to deliver two business-class aircraft and three passenger aircraft for the airline being created in Vitebsk within 2012-2013. They will be equipped with new H80 engines from the American company GE Aviation. Thus, next year, Vitebsk aviators will receive two aircraft, including one business-class aircraft. The Belarusian-Czech enterprise intends to develop regional passenger transportation and is considering the possibility of opening routes Vitebsk-Moscow, Vitebsk-Warsaw, and Vitebsk-Kaliningrad as early as 2012, while the possibility of other flight destinations is not excluded.

Czech aircraft manufacturers, together with "VitebskaviaService," intend to create a maintenance center in Vitebsk for L-410 aircraft produced by the aviation enterprise. Currently, there are only two service structures operating – directly in the Czech Republic and in Yekaterinburg, Russia, so the center in Vitebsk will be able to service aircraft of this class from the Baltic countries and the CIS, noted Pavel Gorodnov.

SOOO "VitebskaviaService" was established with the participation of the Czech company PDW Group s.r.o. for the implementation of an investment project in Vitebsk to develop the infrastructure of Vitebsk Airport. The project envisages the creation of an airline, as well as a business aviation service company, a refueling company, an airport service 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, and in the future, the possibility of leasing passenger Il-114 or Franco-Italian ATR aircraft is not ruled out. During the implementation of the project, it is planned to build a hotel, a restaurant, and modernize the airport terminal complex of Vitebsk Airport, and it is also planned to develop additional services.-0-