Mubasher: Qatar Airways on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire a 25% stake in Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow.
The MoU was inked by Akbar al-Baker, Qatar Airways group chief executive, and Vitaly Vantsev, chairman of the board of Vnukovo International Airport.
“Vnukovo International nowadays boasts the best transport accessibility and most advanced, cutting-edge airport infrastructure in Russia, enabling the Airport's consistently impressive passenger growth performance nationwide,” Vantsev said.
The potential deal stressed the strong relations between Qatar and Russia, chief executive of the state-owned airline Akbar al-Baker noted.
The new acquisition will boost the national carrier’s investment strategy, as Qatar Airways already has investments of 20% in international airlines, in addition to investments in LATAM Airlines Group and Cathay Pacific with 9.94% and 49%, respectively.
In 2017, Vnukovo Airport, which is deemed Russia's third largest airport, received around 18.12 million travellers. The traveller number is expected to rise to 18.5 million during 2018.
