UVT Aero was offered to settle in Crimea
The company claims that they are not elaborating this question
The reconstruction of the Sevastopol airport Belbek in Crimea has stalled. The main problem is the lack of investors. In Crimea they claim that the former governor of Sevastopol asked Tatarstan for money and offered to give the airport under the control of UVT Aero. However, in the Republic they do not confirm that information but potentially Crimea could be interesting for Tatarstan.
The controversial issue of the second airport
The problem of establishing of a new civilian airport in Crimea has long been a subject of discussions for the authorities of the peninsula: on the one hand, the operating airport in Simferopol will soon acquire the second terminal and refurbished runway for small aircrafts. According to Kommersant, the adviser to the head of Crimea on transport Anatoly Tsurkin believes that it may increase the capacity of the airport many times. Moreover, between Simferopol and Belbek it is a little more than 60 km – the distance is considered be too small to demand a second airport.
On the other hand, the acting governor of Sevastopol Dmitry Ovsyannikov announced last week that the reconstruction of Belbek airport will have a positive impact on a growing tourist flow to Crimea. In general at the moment, the absence of investors prevents the establishment of a second airport. In Crimea, referring to St. Petersburg Lenaeroproekt, they claim that the project might be interesting for the carriers S7, Ural airlines and Severstal Air Company. However, there is no evidence of this.
A potential investor — Tatarstan
Tatarstan could have become one of the potential investors. According to Kommersant, the former governor of Sevastopol Sergey Menyailo turned to the President of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov with the request of funding of a new airport in the north-west of Sevastopol. He sent the head of RT a letter with a request to consider 'assistance in the organization of the civil sector of the airport Belbek'.
UVT Aero was allegedly asked to be an investor from the Republic of Tatarstan. However, the General Director of the company Pyotr Trubaev told Realnoe Vremya that he has not received an official letter. Trubaev has not expressed a great desire to enter new markets: 'We have our own market where we steadily work and that's enough.' This question has not been elaborated.
As the source close to the leadership of Sevastopol told Realnoe Vremya, the letter could really have taken place but it is unlikely that such negotiations can be taken seriously: 'Anything could be. You never know who could offer. Menyailo? Kozak? The new governor? But the question of salvation of the airport — is not to Tatarstan. We got rid of the extremely unprofessional government and governor with difficulty. One fact. After returning to Russia, the amount of budget money to the city has grown five times! But the situation in some areas has become worse than in Ukraine. The realization of money allocated for the development is less than 40 percent.'
The source tends to associate the failure of the work on the airport with the activities of Menyailo: 'In the airport issue there was the same incompetence. The government of Menyailo cancelled the tender procedure and brought its firm, which even did not have the necessary licenses. Greedy and stupid. Naturally, the Prosecutor's Office went against it. When Kozak learned that there was nothing, he became hysterical and gave the object to Simferopol.'
Potentially interesting Crimea
Potentially, the project could be interesting for Tatarstan. Now UVT is based in the airports of Kazan and Bugulma. Regular flights to Crimea from Kazan of UVT Aero were launched in the beginning of August of last year. The company was not afraid of the Ukrainian sanctions because it did not plan international flights. Now the airline announced five flights to the peninsula.
Crimean destination is one of the busies in the summer. A number of airlines do not cope with all the transportations. Besides, the work is not carried out in the best way in the airport of Simferopol. So, at the end of last month there were cancelled four flights in one day, including one to Kazan by I Fly. The cancellations occur frequently. And this load potentially could be taken by UVT, having a controlled airport in the peninsula. However, while this remains only a doubtful assumption.
