According to Kommersant newspaper, Sverdlovsk Region division of Federal Antimonopoly Service finalized the case of Yekaterinburg-based Koltsovo airport. The Service decided the airport would have to pay 16.75 million RUR to the federal budget; in the meantime, the Service believes this sum only comes to 2.9% of all the profits made by the airport illegitimately, (these profits are estimated at over 500,000,000 RUR).

Sverdlovsk Region division of Federal Antimonopoly Service declared the airport was violating the competition protection law as early as the end of 2006. Yet as Koltsovo was unable at the moment to produce all the papers it had to, the antimonopoly service found itself having to procrastinate with making the final decision.

There also appears to be a direct link between the drop in fuel prices (the airport’s manager decided to lower the prices from 22,000 RUR to 16,450 RUR per ton as soon as the Service received a complaint) and the reduction in price of the plane tickets offered by a number of air carriers.

Sverdlovsk Region division of Federal Antimonopoly Service started legal proceedings involving Koltsovo airport in the fall of 2006 when Ural Airlines laid a claim against the airport regarding very firm fuel prices in January 2005-October 2006. The Service had already announced the airport was acting as a monopolist and placed it on the list of companies with an over 30% share of the market. This meant that Koltsovo airport had to present the Service with all the data on its fuel prices.