Page 30 - bne_newspaper_August_17_2018

Weekly Lists
August 17, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 30
bne:
Infrastructure
Bratislava airport handled almost 350,000 passengers in July – the most since opening in 1951
Bratislava airport processed the most passengers in one month in July since the airport was opened in 1951, airport general director Jozef Pojedinec told a news conference on August 15.
As many as 349,720 passengers, both arriving and departing, used M.R. Stefanik Airport. The number of passengers at the airport is growing significantly in recent months as Bratislava is able to com- pete with larger airports nearby like Vienna or Prague.
“The airport has been reaching all-time highs in the number of pro- cessed passengers for a third consecutive month. Following June and July, August should continue in this trend, as well,” Pojedinec said.
"The latest data indicate that August might look the same - we should exceed the level of 300,000 passengers again and post some 320,000-330,000 passengers.”
Previously the airport has processed more than 300,000 passengers a day only twice before– in July 2008 and in July 2017 – when the turnover reached about 304,000 people.
Bratislava airport processed 1,251,283 passengers in total in the first seven months of this year, an increase of 20% compared to the same period of last year.
"If nothing extraordinary concerning security happens in the world, the 2018 results might break the previous all-time highs. We expect the number of passengers at about 2,240,000," said Pojedinec.
Russia’s transport ministry has proposed a one-off RUB22.5bn grant to Aeroflot to compensate for rising fuel costs, local media reported on August 16.
Aeroflot has been a darling for portfolio investors for the last few years, but the national airline has lost its lustre this year on the back of sharply rising costs and as one of the companies in the US Treasury Department's (USTD;s) sanctions cross-hairs.
The biggest problem the company faces is rising fuel costs that have been eating into its profitability.
Russian flagship airline Aeroflot is not living up to investors' expec- tations after posting a RUB7.2bn loss in the first half of 2018 under Russian Accounting Standards (RAS), bne IntelliNews reported earlier this month, because of the cost issues.
Russia’s transport ministry proposes one- off RUB22.5bn grant to Aeroflot to compensate for rising costs