Russia gives Lufthansa two more weeks

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Russia gives Lufthansa two more weeks

MOSCOW/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday it would allow the cargo unit of German airline Lufthansa to use Russian airspace for another two weeks, easing tensions in a dispute about fly-over rules.
Russia's Transport Ministry said in a statement that it had decided to extend temporary permission for Lufthansa Cargo to fly over Russia until Nov 15.
"The Russian side has taken a decision to extend until Nov 15, 2007 temporary permission for flights by Lufthansa Cargo until the official confirmation by the German side of the selection of an airport for transit landings," it said.
Germany and Russia locked horns after Lufthansa's freight carrier said on Wednesday it had been stopped from flying through Russian airspace.
Lufthansa has been resisting pressure from Russia to move its regional cargo hub to an airport in Siberia from Astana in Kazakhstan amid a dispute with Moscow over the use of Russian airspace.

The Russian transport ministry said German aviation authorities had confirmed their readiness to consider the possibility of transit landings in Krasnoyarsk and to inform Russia of their decision by Nov 7.
"Moving the hub to Krasnoyarsk is not a realistic option because the infrastructure there does not meet the necessary conditions," a spokesman for the German carrier said on Friday, before the Russian announcement.
For example, flights could not land there if there is thick fog, he said.

Lufthansa is seeking help from politicians to resolve the standoff. The European Commission has said it was following the matter closely but was not yet involved as it was a bilateral matter.
The ban has raised fears in Germany that Russia might be employing strong-arm tactics similar to those it has used in gas price disputes with Ukraine, which resulted in supply disruptions to western Europe.
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had twice spoken to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov about the dispute and a transport ministry spokeswoman said officials in Berlin and Moscow were in intensive talks.

"The German government appeals to the Russian authorities to allow German cargo flights over its air space again as soon as possible," government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told a regular news conference in Berlin.
"I believe that the talks between Germany and Russia are making good progress and I expect them to come to a positive result," he added.
Asked whether Germany was considering asking the European Commission to intervene, the Transport Ministry spokeswoman said: "We think it can be resolved at the national level."
The exact reason for the ban, which Lufthansa Cargo says affects all its flights to and from Astana, is unclear. Russia's aviation transport agency has played down talk of a conflict.
Lufthansa Cargo uses Astana -- its second-biggest cargo airport after Frankfurt -- as a connection point for flights to southeast Asia. The company is diverting flights around Russian airspace, leading to longer flying times and greater fuel use.

Russia gives Lufthansa two more weeks | World | Reuters

Germany agrees to move Lufthansa cargo hub to Russia

FRANKFURT (AFP) — Germany has accepted the transfer of Lufthansa Cargo's central Asian hub from Kazakhstan to Siberia, bowing to pressure from Moscow after it blocked the carrier from flying over Russian territory.
"Discussions with the Russian transport ministry continue. At this time, it is above all a question of a timetable for the transfer of Lufthansa Cargo towards the Russian airport of Krasnoyarsk," Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee said Friday in a statement.
The announcement signalled a possible end to a dispute that had seen Lufthansa cargo planes forced to make a costly detour around Russian airspace en route to the group's current Asian refueling and distribution point at Astana, Kazakhstan.
Russia banned Lufthansa Cargo from Russia airspace earlier this week after a permit allowing the airline to fly over the country expired. The ban was seen by some as an attempt to strong-arm Lufthansa into moving its hub from Kazakhstan to Russia.
Detours to avoid Russian airspace have increased the carrier's fuel costs by about 400,000 dollars (280,000 euros) per week.

The Russian transport ministry agreed on Friday to extend a temporary authorisation, allowing Lufthansa Cargo to resume flights over the country.
Tiefensee said that a precondition for a final accord was "the creation of infrastructure to enable flights to that airport (Krasnoyarsk) in any weather condition."
According to the Financial Times Deutschland, Krasnoyarsk lacks guides for fog-bound landings.

Lufthansa Cargo, a major air cargo carrier, uses McDonnell Douglas MD-11 freighters with a range that prevents direct flights to Asian capitals.
Lufthansa Cargo had appeared earlier Friday to be categorically opposed to a move to a Siberian city, with a spokesman telling Thomson Financial news agency it was "out of the question."
"Technical conditions at the airports mentioned absolutely do not satisfy international standards," the spokesman said.
Later, the group stressed that conditions at the airport needed to be upgraded and that the location of the hub should not be linked to the issue of overflight rights.
A statement said: "We don't agree that talks about overflight rights should be linked to demands for the transfer of the cargo hub.
"Lufthansa Cargo will only consider a move once operational and commercial conditions are established."

German officials had promised to respond by November 7 to Russian conditions that include a requirement that Lufthansa freight flights to southeast Asia make a stop on Russian territory, the Russian trade ministry said.
The spat is another example of trade tension between Russia and a European Union member, with relations strained between the EU and its giant neighbour to the east.
Polish meat exports to Russia and gas shipments from Russia via Ukraine to EU states have also raised tensions in the past year.
On Monday, cargo flights by the Russian airline Aeroflot were barred from landing in Frankfurt, but the measure was lifted the next day "as a goodwill gesture," according to a German transport ministry spokesman.

AFP: Germany agrees to move Lufthansa cargo hub to Russia