In April the airline with largest Tu-204 fleet will move its passenger flights originating in Vnukovo to another Moscow airport, Domodedovo.

The carrier will be moving to Domodedovo in April at any rate, since Vnukovo starts reconstruction of its runways. Reportedly, the reconstruction will last from mid-April till June. Although the carrier has always been loyal to Vnukovo, it may settle in Domodedovo because of “political considerations”.

If Red Wings do settle in Domodedovo, this will be explained by the need to support the leadership of this airport which recently came under heavy critics from the Kremlin for the December blackout and the January terrorist attack. “Such a move could be made on political considerations”, says Alexander Lebedev, the Russian entrepreneur who controls Red Wings. Lebedev further says that if Domodedovo’s services would be good enough and financial terms acceptable, then Red Wings may not return to Vnukovo upon completion of the repair works.

Apparently, Red Wings general director Konstantin Teterin is not happy about his airline leaving Vnukovo. Past year, the share of Red Wings in Vnukovo traffic was 9%. Although Teterin confirms the move to Domodedovo, he is not sure whether the airline will settle there permanently. “If we stay there, we will face competition with Transaero and S7 Airlines, and, very possibly, be losing some profit”, the general director said. However, Teterin’s voice is not strong, as he will soon leave the company, to be replaced by Victor Konarenko.