Tiefensee: Overflight rights for Lufthansa Cargo extended

Commenting on the lifting of the ban on Lufthansa Cargo flying over Russia, the Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs, Wolfgang Tiefensee, stated:

"The intensive efforts of the Federal Ministry of Transport have been successful. In cooperation with my colleague Frank-Walter Steinmeier, we have succeeded in lifting the ban on Lufthansa Cargo AG flying over Russian territory to Astana. The agreement is initially valid until 15 November 2007.

It just goes to show that we were right to seek a solution with our Russian partners at the negotiating table.

The talks with the Russian Transport Ministry will be continued.

The main issue will be to agree a timetable for the relocation of Lufthansa Cargo to Krasnoyarsk Airport in Russia. A prerequisite for this relocation is the creation of the infrastructure, so that aircraft can land at the airport in all types of weather. We are confident that we will, in the long term, reach a good solution for both the Russian and German sides."