22 Nov 2017 14:31

Transport Minister Sokolov not sure whether 'incompetence note' over VIM Airlines lifted

SOCHI (Bocharov Ruchei). Nov 22 (Interfax) - Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov does not know whether the "incompetence note" issued against him by President Vladimir Putin in September over the situation with insolvent VIM Airlines has been lifted.

"I haven't been notified yet," Sokolov told journalists when asked whether the disciplinary measure had been lifted.

President Putin signed the decree on the incompetence note against Sokolov on September 28. The measure, citing "incomplete adequacy," was made at the suggestion of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

VIM Airlines, once one of Russia's top ten carriers, halted all its charter flight programs after running out of cash at the end of September. Prior to the halt, the carrier had experienced a series of lengthy delays at airports in Russia and abroad, impacting thousands of passengers.