Reports out of Russia have confirmed the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has indeed rejected Pobeda's application to commence international operations later this year.
Quoting official documents, Russia's Interfax newspaper says Rosaviatsia ruled the LCC does not comply with Federal Aviation Regulations which require start-ups to ply domestic routes for two years before they can venture abroad. Pobeda was launched in late December 2014 as a successor to the short-lived Dobrolet (Moscow Sheremetyevo).
Pobeda had reportedly applied for traffic rights to serve Hungary, France, Belarus, Germany, and Slovakia. In August, airline officials attempted to woo Russian tour operators with its planned winter international network which would have entailed flights from its Moscow Vnukovo hub to Bratislava (daily), Dresden (2x weekly), Sarmellek (1x weekly), Milan Bergamo (daily), Salzburg (1x weekly), Verona (1x weekly), and Chambéry Aix-lès-Bains (1x weekly).
The Russian Ministry of Transport is proposing amending legislation that would exempt subsidiaries of airlines already allowed to operate international flights, from the requirements. In this instance, Pobeda would be covered as it is a wholly-owned subsidiary of national carrier, Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo).
