Russian court order puts state agency in charge of Moscow's Domodedovo airport

A Moscow court has given Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, temporary control of all key services at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport, court documents showed, an effective state seizure of the country's third-largest airport. Domodedovo handled 9.2m passengers between January and November last year. Its corporate structure is a set of assets all owned by Russian national Dmitry Kamenshchik or his companies. Russia has placed several assets, usually those owned by foreigners, under state management since the enactment of an April 2023 decree. Russia's Prosecutor General filed a lawsuit last month against dozens of entities connected to Domodedovo and interim measures imposed last week give Rosaviatsiya control of their operation. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for Feb. 28. According to the court documents, prosecutors believe that the airport, an entity of strategic importance to Russia, is under foreign influence as a result of its current ownership structure. The Prosecutor General, Rosaviatsiya and Domodedovo Airport did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Kamenshchik could not immediately be reached. Moscow has previously put assets into state management and forced through sales to hand-picked buyers.<br/>