Aeroflot is ready to hand over its Terminal D for management to Sheremetyevo, which will be running the entire airport until officials are able to select an independent operator.
Vedomosti learned of the compromise between Aeroflot and Sheremetyevo International Airport from officials at the two state-run companies. The carrier would give the airport a 52.8 percent stake in Terminal — the operator of Terminal D, also known as Sheremetyevo-3, the sources told Vedomosti.
Initially, Sheremetyevo would manage the stake, but it could eventually come to own it. In exchange, Aeroflot could receive shares in Sheremetyevo, the sources said, adding that no decisions on the deal had been made.
The boards of both companies will discuss management of the terminal by the end of March, one of Vedomosti's sources said.
Spokespeople for Sheremetyevo, Aeroflot and the Transportation Ministry declined comment.
Sheremetyevo now manages the airport's four terminals, and it has been arguing for years with Aeroflot about quality and the way that flights are serviced. The state had three options for settling the issue, all of which agreed that the airport should have a single operator: Sheremetyevo, Aeroflot or an independent management company.
In February, they began to settle on the third option, and no one has backed off that, the officials at Sheremetyevo and Aeroflot said. But a tender to select an independent operator will take some time.
Boris Rybak, chief of communications consultant Infomost, said it was unlikely that the selection would be drawn out. Someone needs to bring order to the airport, and as long as things keep working under the old system — with Aeroflot servicing its flights and Sheremetyevo handling the rest — the quality will remain low, he said.
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