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Red Wings Likely to Resume Flights in June

Red Wings has increased safety and eliminated violations discovered by the Federal Air Transportation Agency.

Red Wings Airlines expects to resume its passenger flights in June after losing its operating license in February in the wake of a plane crash that killed five crew members, Kommersant reported Tuesday.

The company has increased safety and eliminated violations discovered by the Federal Air Transportation Agency in an inspection following the December plane crash at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport, the newspaper said, citing unidentified sources on the aviation market.

During the inspection in mid-January, the federal watchdog discovered "multiple significant violations" in the organization of pilots' work, the technical maintenance of planes, training of pilots and other "systematic" violations by Red Wings.

Technical flights are set to resume on May 13.

Billionaire Alexander Lebedev sold his 100 percent stake in Red Wings in early April to investors for 1 ruble (3 cents).

The buyers were later identified by Kommersant as Mark Garber's GHP group and Sergei Kuznetsov, whose brother founded the Guta group.

Although the airline will miss peak season, its return will surely be welcomed by tour operators, who've been hit by a deficit in flights.

Red Wings and the Federal Air Transportation Agency declined to comment on the matter.

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