Russia's S7 Airlines Mulls Acquiring Stake in Bulgarian Air Carrier

Russian company S7 Airlines is considering a possible entry into the shareholding structure of an unnamed Bulgarian air carrier to conduct flights from Moscow to Europe via Ukraine, TASS reported on Thursday.

There are several Bulgarian airlines operating in the market which could be sold, the Russian news agency quoted S7 Airlines co-owner Natalia Fileva as saying to reporters.

"Ukraine had been closed" and S7 Airlines has to bypass the country's airspace to reach Europe, Fileva said.

Ukraine closed its airspace to Russian airlines, including overflights, in October 2015, in a standoff over Moscow's support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

During the same month it emerged that Siberia Airlines operating under the brand name S7 was willing to acquire a European air carrier but neither a country nor a company name were disclosed. Fileva only said at the time that S7 was looking at a company "in Europe, not far from Russia", according to TASS.

In February 2016, S7 officials were reported to have said that the company was considering a possible participation in the shareholding structure of an unnamed Cyprus-based air carrier.