The airline turned 22 in 2013

Privately-owned Russian airline, Transaero, has gone into bankruptcy despite a government-supported rescue plan announced in early September for its bigger rival, Aeroflot, to take it over.

Yesterday Aeroflot, a member of SkyTeam, told Transaero shareholders that they had “not submitted a proposal for the purchase by Aeroflot of a stake of 75% plus one share in Transaero within the deadline stipulated in the tender offer”.

Aeroflot’s Vitaly Saveliev has given undertakings to passengers

The Aeroflot board has subsequently decided not to extend the terms of the offer but has said it would “use its own funds to stabilise Transaero within established limits”. That appears to be an assurance that will enable Transaero’s existing paid-up passengers to fly or get their money back, and to minimise negative consequences for Transaero staff.

Aeroflot CEO, Vitaly Saveliev, says: “Aeroflot undertakes that all obligations to Transaero’s passengers will be fulfilled. Passengers will be guaranteed transportation or a refund in the event that a flight is cancelled.”

Transaero is one of the two biggest carriers at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport (DME), serving a large number of international destinations. From January to August the airline operated 12.8% of all DME’s flights.

Its demise will have an inevitable impact on duty free and travel retail operations at the airport, as well as at Pulkovo Airport serving Saint Petersburg.

Transaero had previously announced plans to move all its Moscow flights to Vnukovo Airport, the city’s third gateway, starting from 25 October via terminal A.