Rosaviatsia, Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, has revoked Transaero Airlines' Air Operator Certificate (AOC), forcing it to cease flying on October 26. Following an inspection, Rosaviatsia said the financially troubled carrier was unable to service its debts and fund its continuing operations and, as such, "does not meet" Russia's certification requirements - adding it had sufficient grounds, including safety and consumer rights concerns, to revoke the AOC. The decision comes just weeks after a deal to sell the airline to Aeroflot collapsed. A provisional agreement was reached on September 1 under which Aeroflot would acquire 75% (plus one share) of Transaero for the nominal sum of one rouble ($0.01). But the state-brokered deal collapsed after Transaero failed to submit a formal proposal for the acquisition by the October 1 deadline. The Russian Government said it would continue to investigate rescue packages for the carrier, but noted that its debts, which are understood to be around RUB260 billion ($4.15 billion), made a bailout potentially unviable. It also refused to rule out allowing Transaero to file for bankruptcy.
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